The Shadow of the Man Killer
by THANOSRULES
Summary: The hunt. An Eclipse. The Corona. Old Gods from beyond the black gulfs of time. Beneath these things, I lie , helpless and in shadow of the man killer.
1. Chapter 1

**Shadow of the Man-Killer**

Story by Bryan Dyke

My eyes have adjusted to the dark here at last. The shapes of a carved aqueduct form in the pale glow of alien vegetation. The sound of water and the smell of methane flood my senses. Occasionally, I flap like a fish to stand up, but all I do is splash and make noise. The wound in my chest is surely mortal. The pain cripples me even more as I move. Eventually, I just settle back down beneath the flow of ancient water.

_I nearly escaped._

As I look up, I can see the odd statues in the grey. The meager light of phosphorescent mushrooms gives off a faint yellow aura on their grim faces. They are human figures, monoliths etched in time. In the weak light, I can not make out the details in their features, but I know they watch me here. They stand here waiting in the darkness, they watch the throes of my passion with stoic and unblinking faces. _Can mercy be found in the heart of her who was born of the stone?_ They are the forgotten mist covered guardians of time, I'd doubt anyone has seen them for hundreds of years. They are my only friends in the final moments. _I choose not to ask them for any mercy._

Their stoic gaze will be the last thing I see.

In this place, I marvel at the elaborate design of a meager sewer. Eons ago, some great artist must have designed this aqueduct with satisfaction and pride. But, to call this place a confluence of some ancient _sewer_ would not do it justice. There is beauty here among the filth. Nevertheless, the pool shall be my tomb.

Above me, from the path I had fallen, a huge stone human head spits out a stream of gurgling water. The mist wets my skin. More of the glowing algae dances in the bubbles below._ I could not even see it before_. There is much here on Leng that took me time to notice.

The pool is not even deep enough to drown. A hundred thousand years old and still it drains proper.

I place my finger on the deep hole in my stomach. The blood has already turned dark red. The wound is dire. I hold back the urge to cough, but eventually I cannot.

The pain is sharp.

Somewhere, far above me, twilight may soon pass on the infernal planet. For me, the night creeps forward at last. In the darkness of this ruin, the cold sneaks in like a thief. It slides forth to tickle my pain. I lay here, broken and in the grips of certain death. As my body cools, the frigid air bites my limbs and numbs the burn of my once bright fire.

My chest is pierced with sharp stabs of agony. A pool of my own blood lay around me as the loss of my vigor works to see me dead. Reality blurs and my ears hear the sweet sounds of soft music. I face certain doom in the sewer of this ruin. The threads of my sanity snap away by the second. Slowly, I make my descent closer to death's trap door.

Yet, the beast's shadow looms.

_Were those blue eyes I saw on the dark path above? Has she come for me at last?_

I am left for dead on this forsaken planet. I am a relic no longer needed in this time.

The memory of snapping jaws, dark eyes and the flash of a azure blades is the least of my worry. I have uncorked something far older and malignant. The sight of the place _in-between_ haunts my mind.

In a flash of panic, a part of me feels regret of my presence here, regret at the hunt for the ultimate thrill and the search for unmatched glory. _Was it all for vanity's sake?_

To the hunter who has all the answers and stalks a prey with all his skills, he most often finds his greatest adversary is himself.

_Did my hubris cause my demise?_

No, hubris causes one to underestimate their enemy. For this, I am guilty. But a worse sin, a worse crime, i_s to not even know who your enemy is_. This was my fatal mistake. _This is why I lay dying._

I flush the corrupt thoughts from my weak mind. The wound in my stomach burns with pain. I am thirsty again, but I am too weak to even bend over to drink.

I am beyond the veil of civilized man. Hope of rescue is the property of a fool. No one will know of my death nor will they mourn my demise. But for the sake of those impostors was never a reason why I came here to this damned dark place.

In my heart, I know I came to the forsaken planet of Leng, a land of decay and death, with the ultimate hope that I could truly live my life once more.

Yet, with certain doom before me, I am defiant. Even with a hole in my chest and poison in my body, it is hard for me to accept an end before its time.

As my sanity drips away into a puddle around me, my thoughts dance into delusion. I hear the soft music in my ear. The gentle strumming of strings blends with the rush of water around me into a sweet symphony.

Still, the question lingers in my head.

My hunt was an unresolved riddle for which I hoped to find an answer. I sought this answer in the dark places of the universe. It was a quest filled with passion. Yet, that quest ended here on Leng. It had to end somewhere.

I sought that answer buried among the stars and in the souls of the worst nightmares a person could fathom. But, as I lay here near death, I hold no ill feelings for the undiscovered answer.

In this quest for truth, I confronted the worst horror the universe has ever known. I never gave in to the dark urge. I rejected the _Taint_ that corrupts the souls of men. To stand and laugh in the face of that decay was worth any price. Still I feel the warmth of that place beyond the portal. _It teases me with rage_. Perhaps, in some ways, this was the answer I sought. _Death is the only escape._

I lay in this pool of circumstances with defiant pride. The shape of the _Dark Star_ flutters in my eyes. The eclipse bathes me with a weak glow. I feel how false it all was. As I close my eyes, I feel the only real thing, the light from the undying corona wraps around me.

But it too, is just a vision. Nothing is real anymore. Maybe not even death.

And so, whatever comes next is now my welcome friend. I smile, with blood on my lip and a labored last breath in my lungs._ If only I had fresher air to breath._

_So, this is how my story begins, at the end of it all. _

The most worthy adversary shall take me away. Wherever he takes my body, my mind shall drift to sweet Ganymede. I shall stand by my father near the creek , below the ice capped mountains. There will be fish to catch and friends to see. There is peace in that reality.

I have no regrets that I stood in this place and raged against the dying of the light. I pray in death i find the peace I seek from these dreadful dreams of darkness and loss. The faceless form of a child in need and my mother's disappointed stare will plague my nightmares no longer. The beast comes forward now to finish the job. I can hear the low growl of eldritch horror unspeakable. _Do I feel it's breath on my skin?_

_"Kali " it whispers softly. _I feel the motion of a sea of arms around me.

Things were never as they seemed. I should have seen all of this trickery.I should have never come to Leng. _  
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Now, I will pass into the black gulfs of oblivion. The sound of those infernal drums has faded and I welcome the sweet mandolin of Ganymede in my ear... here, in the darkest of time forgotten places , I wait.

The hands touch me softly and I see the green glow of something ancient walk my way.

I can hear the steps and the the whispers.

_"Kali"_ she says.

The light from the mushrooms casts a pale glow against the bubbling water. The darkness swirls. From the path above, a shape forms over my dying body.

The blue eyes are so clear now. _Will these visions stop plaguing me?_

A splash of footfall comes my way. The dark reach of the shade falls forward.

I prepare for this end, slowly and surely, beneath the _Shadow of the Man Killer_.


	2. Chapter 2

With the shapes of chthonic demons over my body, I contemplate all things. Seconds are years and moments are a flash. In the worst of clichés, my strange life passes before me in a sea of visions. Time stops for me here in the sewers of Leng, and with strange moments there is thus time enough to reflect on my life.

As I have mentioned, this place of my _currant_ death is called Leng.

There is no known maps of the stars to tell a person how to get here. The _plateau of Leng_ is a whisper in the black. A secret. A world better left lost. Yet I found the place and all the trouble that came with it. To think my intentions were to help these people? What an idiot I am!

To make sense of why I came to the plateau of Leng, it is worth starting my tale from the very beginning.

The name I have always known is Colonel Fredrick Montressor.

I have been many things in my life. I was a soldier for most of my career. Only now, I travel the stars as a hunter of extraordinaire beasts.

I was not always a man filled with such conflict and self doubt. Much of my early years were peaceful and kind. In those days, I was a child adorned with great opportunity and privilege. Life was good back then. I was lucky.

The solar system around Earth was a marvel back then, especially the moons of Jupiter.

I was born on Jupiter's moon Ganymede in the Halcyon days of Jovian opulence. It was before the great J'narr war shattered us all. I was the son of a prominent financier and terraformer. He was himself, something of an adventurer.

Janse Montressor, my father, was renowned through known space for his decadent style and unmatched skill. He was a genius and rare breed, but admittedly, most terraforming engineers were. There were few, however, who could also be called true artists. My father was one such man. He was an early partner to the great inter stellar tycoon and fellow virtuoso _Sunni Zarr_. Zarr was a mystery of a figure. My father always told me Zarr was both a loyal partner and good man, despite his ruthless reputation as a huckster. By all accounts, Zarr considered my father a valued friend as well. No one ever met Zarr, but those in his graces were always protected.

Thus, as a family in the fold of Sunni Zarr, our life in those days was filled with all the resplendent joys of the ultra rich.

My mother was a poet. She was a beautiful woman and person. A former hydroponic engineer, she had grown up on the rough outlands of Earth. She was a grounded woman who knew the pain of poverty and the power of kindness.

As the only child of wealthy parents, I knew frivolous travel and never ending and lavish parties. The gentle touch of my mother's affection always balanced the more rigid stability of my eccentric father. My father's work took me to dozens of brilliant colonies around the solar system and fringe worlds. I was spoiled and showered with toys and gifts, but also exposed to a wide breadth of cultures and peoples as to keep me grounded. With such wealth, I was a young boy who knew little want.

Love and splendor were all I knew. This made it even harder when such notions were eventually stripped from my life.

Rage and the pain of loss forced a way into my soul.

It came to me like the unexpected blast of solar flare one day.

The time was late spring on Ganymede. I stared out the windows at my preparatory school, dreaming of the early summer and days fishing at the pond with my father. It was just another boring day of astrophysics and geometry when I received the dark news of my parents death. As I sat in my headmasters office, the woman told me there "had been an accident". _An accident_, like it was all just some "cosmic slip up". She told me the ship burned up instantly near Thule, a navigation failure of the space ship. I later found out they had been vaporized instantly as their vessel hurled into a distant gas giant. The death was quick and painless, only I was left to suffer. At first, I thought it was some sick joke. As the days rolled on, everything became horribly real. Naturally, I was devastated.

But life for me went on.

My parents premature death extracted a heavy toll on my youthful spirit. Anger and spite became new sensations. In turn, "Little Fredrick" became the sullen boy who shunned friends and others and played by himself in a quiet sections of the playground. My anger seethed. I wanted to hurt this world in some way, but I did not know how. I still maintained money and stability. Sunni Zarr saw to it I was taken care of. But the vacuum of love and affection could not be mended. For all his help, I never even met the man.

It was because of this repressed emotion, I took to the life of a soldier. With all my anger, I wanted to be a "man of war." I wanted to destroy. I relished the thought of bringing my rage to others. _I was a fool even as a child._

As I would learn, some people are called to take the oath of the military for different reasons, it was not always reserved for "head cases" such as me.

I was one of the few that wanted to destroy. _How little I knew back then!_ Of course, I was a naive child who knew only about war from simple holovids and dated space films.

After my preparatory education was complete, I enrolled in the Jovian military Academy at Callisto without hesitation. Those early days were a difficult time for me. My rage and sudden lack of family, however, gave my life in the armed services a new purpose. In fact, for those years, the rage served as the basis to drive me further and ahead of many of my peers. I studied hard and often. Soon, I rose to the top of my class.

In school, my aptitude scores and physical evaluations all referred me for the highest awards for performance i was pegged for _star ship duty_ and the life of an inter stellar pilot. It was a a rare and coveted achievement that few could attain. But for my spite, it was also an honor I enthusiastically turned down.

I wanted_ infantry._

I wanted to jump from star ships in powered armor like a wild hero of the holovids. I wanted to see the eyes of my enemy as I stabbed him with a two foot long razor. I was always a man who wanted to get his hands dirty and see things from the ground up. The infantry branch was all too eager to accept me, but the road was by no means easy.

The fire of my stupidity in those days burned nearly as hot and bright as my anger. Flames , are never a wise thing to leave unchecked.

In the 3rd year of my college, everything changed. It was then I learned that life as a soldier was much more complex than the idle flicker of any fires of rage. I was force fed the lesson of what it _really meant_ to be a combat leader of men. As part of my training to be an Infantry officer, I was made a simple private and shoved into duty for that entire school year. All the Infantry men went through this right of passage. That year, I fought in several minor (but very real) insurrections and conflicts on the wayward moon of Io. I was shot at for the first time. I saw death and destruction first hand. I felt the paralysis of fear and learned of the strength needed to over come it.

But most importantly, on Io I learned of the hard work, brotherhood and discipline involved with the Infantry.

In turn, I became good at my craft. I say without ego I was a good leader who men would turn to in dark violent times.

That following year, was the start of it all.

The ruthless aliens known as the _J'narr_ broke centuries of peace and invaded the great empires of Earth. The J'narr were silent killers from the dark gulfs beyond man's reach. They were mindless monsters from beyond the borders they called the "Rim". They were brutal killers with no remorse. Butchers of the dark expanse. They forgave nothing nor spared anyone in their fervor to eradicate the races of men, and they were _also_ good at their job.

Thus began a great era of hardship and war. The gilded days of old crumbled in the ruins of battle. Men like me were needed.

For my part, I was commissioned in to the Army of the United Command Forces (UCF).

With my drive, I moved quick through the officer's ranks. Eventually, I found a home in command of smaller Infantry Special operations regiments. I worked with skilled men who lived and breathed deep behind enemy lines. We were the tip of the spear against the merciless J'Narr horde. We suffered brutal casualty rates and horrible experiences.

My mind took a heavy toll from these days and I do not speak of those memories often. Even now, sweet dreams no longer linger in my nights.

The work was mixed with different duties. It was always enough to keep me challenged. At times, my unit wrought the most daring and bold attacks and raids. But mostly, we were tasked to embed deep in far off places and train hapless colonials or friendly alien species to fight for our flag. We used our minds nearly as much as our blasters, it was our only advantage over the savage J'Narr we fought.

I took pride in the mission to lead large groups of local alien and native tribesmen in the fight against the J'Narr plague. I found the appeal of far off and strange places intoxicating. The worse odds of success , the more I craved the assignment. There was a real reward to take backward native forces and motivate them to become a competent fighting force. There was nothing that pleased me more as to see those trained forces as they stood over the dead husks of the ruthless J'narr invaders. It was a righteous mission and a righteous cause. The J'narr were truly evil.

I cared deeply for the code and the people I fought with.

In a dark time, our ways were darker. I worked with men who did what needed to be done. When killers were needed, we answered the call.

I served little in the more famous battles of the War, choosing more often to fight in the most hopeless.

I was there on far off Aldebaran III's moon _Gilgamesh_ when we successfully mobilized an entire battalion of colonials in a guerrilla campaign against sadistic J'Narr overlords. So too, did I stalk the bastards in the lush wilds of _Sirius III_. In wet, dark places, we waged grizzled combat against murderous odds. Many soldiers could not stomach those places or assignments.

To this day, I can still not speak or recall what took place on the old colony of _Kull-Ghul_. Only in nightmares do I return there, and I return often.

Between soldier and colonial, tribesman or mercenary, our sense of brotherhood and family was always strong. The _Espirit De Corps_ of the men of the UCF Special Forces and the indigenous forces we worked with was unmatched. We fought the devil himself in those days, and every man or woman I worked with knew this. It was a dream to work with such driven comrades.

On Sirius III, we reclaimed the star port there with little more than a squad of lowly _Grimlak _herdsman and a wing of retrofitted crop dusters. Against all odds, we forged miracles of war. You will not, however, find many of those dark tales in any history book or school text.

Many of my closest friends died during those days.

Then there was _Kull-Ghu_. Sometimes, secrets are worth keeping.

When I finally retired at the War's end, I had achieved the highly respectable rank of Colonel in the UCF.

Some men would have been satisfied with this place and station, but I was not. For me , the job was never about rank or prestige. Instead, I loathed the thought of leaving my comrades in arms to return to the doldrums of the Jovian Moons. _Even though war was over, I felt I was needed somewhere. _

I say with no problem, that my retirement was not by my choice. Men like me are often seen as a threat after the chaos of war. I was not seen as a "peace time" leader. While I had volunteered for the most deadly and bloody battles in the war, I had not reaped the spotlight or oiled the most important palms. Those things were never my trade. As such, after the war, my career lacked a political drive to advance further. My promotions languished, and I was respectfully shown the door, albeit a gilded one, showered with confetti and accolade. It was a time for men with slick tongues and sharp words, Fredrick Montressor had too much baggage.

Thus, I was mothballed and abandoned by those I trusted most.

I felt the fires of the rage of my youth return. But I was tired from battle, and as such, those rekindled fires only sparked and smoldered. I went about to return home, intending to wash those fires out with wine and mead. It was a short term solution.

Bitter and broken, I returned to my sweet Ganymede.

As a souvenir, I kept a complete uniform with all the honors and medals a fighting man could achieve. They let me keep the T-shirts as well. Even better, I got to keep a head full of horrors and nightmares. But awards and trinkets were empty weight. They meant nothing to me. Inside, I felt hollow and directionless. My body was still fit and strong, I was stocked with the finest nannite immune systems and musculoskeletal enhancements money could buy. I was still a young man of ability. I had no family or children. Command and the life of a soldier had been my only love.

I settled down in the Jovian city of _Nubia_, On the sandy rim of Ganymede's lush forests and deep freshwater lakes. It was a coveted locale for all things recreation.

For some time, I could manage to only wake and stare at white walls. I went on long walks through the thicket of the wild. I listened to the beasts and birds of the woods and reminded myself I was far from Rim of space. This was my home. It was everything I had fought for, but I was miserable.

With time, the robust social life scene of Ganymede called . With reservation, I was consigned to a middling life of lavish dinner parties and art gallery tours. I toured a host of social events, always in the company of a score of sycophants and old childhood ghasts who called themselves "friends and colleagues". I was , of course, resigned to be the role of hapless party guest known to all as the tipsy "Colonel". He was whimsical figure of mirthful entertainment who was always hopelessly lost in his snifter glass of aged brandy and stories of old adventures. He was the silly "Colonel" whose eyes dipped as the Brandy set in, his dusty UCF dress uniform smudged with cocktail sauce and tobacco. A fool. It was another hollow shell.

I felt trapped in a caricature of some cruel archetype, but most of all I felt _unneeded._

But life on Ganymede was sweet, and the parties went on.

The tipsy "Colonel" was always there, in the corner, half cocked and willing to share a rascally tale of broadsides and battleships. But he was empty inside.


	3. Chapter 3

In the haze of my post war stupor, I knew leisure travel and epicurean delights once again. The days of lavish hedonism had returned. In some respects, my irresponsible childhood had returned.

But, unlike my youth, these new times provided little satisfaction and less passion. Love was dead in my new state of mind. The wasteland of my mind was complete with a bad dreams and memories of lost friends. Faceless forms, who screamed for my help. This state ensured there would be no new golden era of naive opulence.

Admittedly, much of my new life had a sickly stability. This fact, made my complaints seem so shallow. Finances were not a problem. My retirement compensation was significant and my inheritance even grander. I would have no financial worries again in my life. Money meant nothing to me. I had so much. But after I had seen the horrors of Siruis III, Kull-Ghu and other places in my nightmares, currency never meant much to me. I would have given it all to purge those visions of brothers left behind and the haunted faces of those we could not help. I would have given everything to undo Kull-Ghu from my mind.

But I had to live a life. Soon, I began to seek therapy for myself in new ways.

Slowly, I began to roam the wilderness in search of a _challenge_. I started the early steps of my drive to become a new man.

The victory was learning I needed to be challenged by life once more. The victory was being _needed_ once more. And like any fighter, I got back in the ring for one more round.

My first gentle pursuit, was a return to the sport of fishing.

I would learn later, like most impulses of old men, this first choice was actually the best.

I had fished the major continents of Ganymede as a young boy. My father always loved to fly fish with me in the cool mountain waters, especially those of the Alpine regions near my home, Crystal Pond and her head waters. The crisp streams of Ganymede and her neighboring sisters had some of the best sport fishing known to men.

Once again, the _Jovian trout_ became my chief interest. This was no small claim, the thing had baffled my father his whole life. It is an elegant animal of simple wonder. For a time, nothing was a better reward than to find the perfect pool stocked with the reclusive _salmonoid _fish. It was noble treasure.

Even now, the thought of the pursuit of those fish gives me fond memories. _I should have stuck with the trout._

For a time, it was a peaceful and rewarding hobby. But eventually, it did not satisfy my thirst for adventure. The fire inside me was left unquenched. It was ego that made me push for more.

Soon, I needed bigger challenges. I strove for an additional rush of danger and complexity mere sport fishing could not satisfy.

In time, the dinner party scene and life on Ganymede began to repulse me. Fish by day, parties by night. It was too safe and sterile. I trusted no one. Everywhere I went, I saw morbid faces out of touch with who I was or the sights I had seen. In these circles, few even understood what had taken place so far away. These people knew little of the horrors of the J'narr. They had no clue of the rigors of a soldier's life. Everything had always been given to them. It was hard to sit down and share drinks and stories with people who had no concept of sacrifice or civil service.

There is a time when a fake smile and a bad hangover takes it's toll. On Ganymede, in those days, I reached that point.

Yet again, I began to struggle with my thoughts.

I questioned if it was possible for me to adjust to this new life. Admittedly, I even contemplated ending my life at one point. Suicide never made much sense to me. _I had unfinished business._ The promise of mountain streams I had not fished or trails unhiked, forced me to dismiss this notion. Something else also burned in my soul. The concept of suicide was alien and strange. In my life as a soldier, I had risked heaven and hell to accomplish the most difficult feats. But most off all, if there was any point to the whole ordeal, it was to survive with those around me and get through it all. Survival was paramount. I had been through countless brushes of unspeakable horror. I had tested the extreme limit of human perseverance. The idea of _self termination_ to one who had cheated Lady death so many times seemed silly.

But even more, I felt in my conscience, to quit on life would let someone or something down. The problem was, I had no clue _who_.

As I looked at the stars after a long party or dinner, I knew there was someone out there who still needed the _real_ Colonel Montressor.

So, suicide was not a path I would consider. Instead, I went out and fished.

Upon this revelation, I began to seek out more dangerous game in my sport. Fishing progressed to hunting animals. By my time, serious hunting for big game had all but disappeared from human lifestyle. The classical hunts were more a thing of legend and story. The sport was costly and expensive. To travel between planets with weapons and gear was a limited enterprise. It was a sport available and of interest to only a few. To deal with the required cost of gear and constant headaches of interplanetary customs was an act of frustration.

Proper game was hard to locate as well.

Ganymede had a small deer species that ran through the elevated planes of my home. Large rock goats climbed sheer bluffs of Ganymedes mountains. I hunted these animals briefly, but these creatures had limited appeal and season. I never wanted to shoot goats much.

The ancient beasts of Earth had been greatly reduced.

No longer were there "man eaters" of central India or charging rhinos of Africa. Habitat for such monsters of the old world as the tigers of Asia and the lions of the African plains had dwindled to nothing. To hunt in the overpopulated areas of industrial Earth usually consisted of a guide who would hand you a sterile rifle to shoot a hapless drugged prey who was already languishing in front of you. It was hunting for fools and not the sort of commerce I desired. In any effect, I found the high gravity of Earth and its polluted skies disagreeable with my Jovian senses.

So too, solid game was hard to find on other human worlds.

Most of the animals and zoology on terraformed planets were strictly controlled and engineered. The animals there typically offered little sporting value on the level I was akin to. The planet Druid II had an engineered beast similar to the old water buffalo of earth that provided some sport. The plains of Thracia in Procyon held a predator akin to earth's long extinct Mountain Lion. There were always a bevy of large aggressive insects that could harm men. But most of these beasts were not serious sport. Animal life on such worlds highly regulated and managed.

I tired quickly of new colony worlds and their limited fare. Worse, it pained me to see groups of UCF troopers garrisoned at these places, and only made me miss the days when I led men and hunted the greatest prey this galaxy had ever known.

At last, in my quest for monsters of worth, I found _other_ locations where I found better prey.

The horrors I sought thrived in wilder and more dangerous realms.

These were _alien worlds_ with fantastic climates and landscapes. They were remote and dangerous and full of _real_ life. These places were full of alien species, with no connection to earth or the solar system. These worlds stretched beyond controlled environments and most had few amenities for the inexperienced.

Some, were stocked with hostile or unfriendly races, beings that often complicated travel. The air and food was often poisonous or incompatible with the human body. Special care and equipment were always needed to survive such challenges of those places. But the effort needed for survival made the hunt a greater thrill, it made the prize all the more worthwhile.

With such challenge, my passionate fires burned once again. The tipsy "colonel" had passed away. I was fully entrenched as Fredrick Montressor, _hunter of monsters_.

My new life had begun.


	4. Chapter 4

After a several hunting expeditions, I began to develop an ethos to my hunts. Quickly, I started to refine what I sought in my prey. Danger and difficulty were only an aspect of the hunt. The goal was to not only look for a worthy prey, but a worthy cause as well.

I heard the legends from old Earth of the concept of a "Man Killer". To most of the "civilized" world, this had little meaning outside of a J'Narr Black Marine. For wild animals, I read of the legends of hunts for these beasts and developed my aspirations around a similar cause. The ancient text's of Jim Corbett and his _Man Eaters of the Kumaon_ became my bible.

I sought the wild beast who, for whatever reasons, took a keen interest in human flesh over it's typical prey. These were animals that quickly could turn the hunter in to the hunted. As I studied these aberrations and digested the old tales, I grew to be fascinated by the phenomena. I loved the idea of not only hunting great sport, but the notion of doing a service for people in need. I wondered, w_ere there races of people still held in terror by such creatures?_ I has seen places of great poverty during the war, I knew there were such places. I resolved myself to find them.

Only a true stalker could track and kill one of these mythical "man killers".

Dangerous beasts were all but gone from the old haunts of Earth. Civilization had dulled the edge of the ferocity of the animal kingdom. Men were the larger danger on Earth these days. Thanks to men, even the J'Narr were a thing of the past. For over a thousand years, advanced technologies had allowed humans to settle the stars. Those same abilities had also ensured the pool of dangerous animals was harmless and no longer a threat. _What danger was mountain lion to a man wielding a quadra oscillating Gatling laser in tritanium powered armor? _

These days, it was not often that a wild beast could master men.

I wanted to find beasts who were a plague to well meaning people. I sought beasts who were considered _evil_, not just mindless and hungry. Not only would I fulfill my passion for the hunt, I could help people be rid of dangerous hazards as well.

I quickly found the only bastion for these types of monsters were found in a select few locations on the edge of man's galactic imprint. These were the exponential worlds of the "Rim". Some of these worlds, on the fringe of explored space, were secret and unknown. Red and Brown dwarf worlds undiscovered for years, terraformed rocks in the gaps in between stars. There was much more out there in the dark reaches of space than men had anticipated. With all the possibilities, it took great care and effort to find these forgotten places.

I managed to find some decent hunts in these spots. I stalked and killed a _Void Yeti_ on Drasticus Nine. The hunt lasted for months, and the creature nearly killed me in the process. The green slant eyed alien denizens of the world thanked me for my efforts a thousand times over. With these hunts, the fire inside of me felt fueled. My insatiable rage now had an outlet to burn bright.

Over the next season, I discovered more hunts worth my while. There were many formidable beasts of renown in lesser explored spaces.

The _Rim Sharks_ of Ulbex Two, The _Grotto Worms_ of Calazar's moon _Populon_, the charging _Vrusks_, and _Shale Snakes_ of wild Omerta. All these beasts could slay men.

After several trips to hunt such monsters, I found them to be formidable foes.

The head of a dark Vrusk named _Balgorn Gaw_ hangs on the wall of my lodge on Ganymede. During the hunt, I broke four ribs and lost a good pack mule . It was four months to stalk a cowardly murderer of children, a seventeen foot Shale Snake the local miners called _The Black Mistress_. I ate her raw gizzard as I gut out her poison gland with my blade. I wear the jacket I made from her hide even now, the damn creature. A half dozen mothers thanked me for killing the slithering horror.

Yet still , the night brought dreams haunted by Kull-Ghu.

Despite the challenge, most of these great beasts were nothing more than mindless predators. They had a cunning perhaps, an intelligence, but it was not the level of calculated fiend I sought. I was never satisfied, never finished. After I placed a number of heads and hanging skins on my wall, I found hunting these foes as empty as the Jovian Trout.

Again, one cool night, I sat and looked past mighty Jupiter and gazed out at the stars. From my home on Ganymede, I contemplated my career as a hunter. By this time, I had slain several creatures of note. I had developed a reputation as a unique and competent artisan in the field. Fantastic trophies began to dot my hall on Ganymede. My legend spread beyond the planets. As I contemplated my next move, I knew I needed an adversary of epic scope. I needed to up the ante of my hunt. I needed to locate the true pinnacle of a beast who lived to track man and _celebrated the act as ritual, a_ beast who was inspired by true malice and evil.

I knew there must be one beast out there who would satisfy my thirst. In some ways , this quest became almost magical..or cursed.

But I did not believe in either. As I ended hunt after hunt, all I knew was some odd force pushed me on. My soul could sense an all powerful evil presence in the stars. As the cool breeze of the early summer of Ganymede brushed my cheek, I knew it was my unfinished duty to seek out this horror and kill it.

Weeks later, I was on another hunting venture on the planet Omerta when I first heard of my _adversary_. Through my travels, when in doubt, one can typically find most anything in the dark places of the blessed pirate world men call Omerta. It is the ultimate haven for any danger and adventure this side of our galaxy. As time had worn on, it has become my true home away from home.

I was in a local bar in a village far removed from the bustle of Zangramoore. The haunt was well known for it's hospitality and sweet ale. That night I celebrated alone. After productive foray into the wilds, I held a fat mug of Omertan mead in my hand as I thought of my day. The warm fire and kindred chortles of Omertans filled the night.

I had flushed the brood den of a particular violent Vrusk named _Scourge_. With great effort, I pinned the sow to the nearby foothills and canyons. Her mate was dead and gutted at my camp. Still, it had been weeks of work to flush the beast from the canyons. As I drank, I had planned an early night and to resume my track by first dawn. As I wiped the last bit of foam from my lips, I saw the dust covered miners walk into the bar. The men spoke loudly and with strange accent. They were typical of the Omertan Gammite miners, loud, crazed and not fully sane. Their faces were sooty with the filth of the deep wilderness caves. They smelled of brimstone and sulfur as they walked past.

As the dusky men sat next to me, one of the more astute and square jawed miners noticed my garb and guessed correctly I was a sporting man. As he noted my gear, he correctly ventured I was on the planet to stalk those previously mentioned Vrusks of the Omertan lowlands. We soon engaged in a broad conversation about the rigors of hunting the beasts of Omerta. He surprised me with his knowledge of firearms and beasts. With good company the tales and mead both flowed freely. They listened with genuine interest to my every word.

As the night wore on, one of the miner's brought up the topic of the galaxy's most formidable beasts. For a while, a yarned about the _Black Mistress_ and told the sad tale. A killer of innocence was always the worst of my nightmares.

It was only in passing, that one of the miners mentioned the name _Kali Tiger_ to me under his breath. I had not heard of such a beast and enthusiastically inquired with the miner further on the topic.

"What was this beast, what tiger did you say? " I asked with guarded fervor.

The miner looked at me with a smile. "The Kali? I heard it was the most devilish beast the universe had known. A huge beast, the size of a couple Vrusks, at least. At first, like most 'round 'ere, I thought it was a legend. " He took a sip of his beer. "but it ain't all legend"

"Well, how are you sure its real?" I asked. "Tall tales abound in this sport." I said with a grin.

"Well, there ain't no tigers on Omerta , mate. I only heard of 'em on earth. Smaller ones than the Kali. " He said. "But we gather a lot o' different places stories 'round 'ere, naturally." He said with a wink. "Omerta is the center of everything"

"Yeah, including hangovers!" his mate joked with a slap.

"This beast is called the Kali Tiger?" I asked. I had never heard of any such animal in all my travels.

"Yep, that Kali is the name I heard. Long time ago, 'dat name was whispered to school children to scare 'em ta be good." He said. "Y'know do your chores or Kali will get ya" He said as he slurped his drink. "..but nobody talks 'bout it much no more. To many rim runners round these parts now sellin cheap spice and gold. Most forgot about the ol' cats of the dark rim."

"Cats of the rim?" I asked."What cats?"

"Old legends friend. Big cats who plague those places who need plagin'" He said." Like I said, fairy tales fer kids."

"But you think the thing is real?" I asked.

The miner tossed me a grim look.

"Yep, I know it was a' real, I do" He said as he pulled closer to me. He smelled of burned ash and Omertan rum. He looked around the bar." I seen the look in the eye of the ship captain who said he seen it. Said he needed somebody to kill it. He was a desperate man he was." The miner said as he looked to the ground.

"Dear god, what? Tell me more man, he was asking for help to kill the thing?" I inquired

"'Yeah, that's what I said mate, name of _Fortunato_ he is. He flies a ship down at the Zangramoore docks. A cruiser, a dirty thing, big guns on it though. They're sketchy for sure, a bunch of cloaked ruffians work dirty business of some kind with the bar down there, the _Crawling Chaos Cafe_." The miner probed around the bar again. He looked like he didn't even trust his friends with the information and moved to a whisper."Be careful if ya go lookin for 'em mate. I heard he works a rim world named _Leng_. A weird place. Ain't no good stories 'bout Leng."

I was lost in thought for a moment.

"What does this man do here on Omerta?" I asked.

"Fortunato? He runs gold there.." The miner winked ".. of the Omertan kind, if ya catch my drift." He said.

I looked at him as he jerked around to make sure no one else listened. He was nervous.

I knew the term _Omertan Gold_ . It was smack. A narcotic. A perfect drug, the crafty Omertan's had mastered. There were few people in the galaxy who did not know the name.

The miner took a huge sip of his ale. I had never heard of any place named_ Leng_ either.

The miner went on.

"Its a secret place, mate, like any one o' those rim world jobs. I stay away from dem off map locales. You can get stuck in those kinda places. Forgotten mostly, nobody knows about it much any more. A small hellhole 'round some dim brown dwarf. Not far from here, but impossible to find if ya don't have a guy who knows the route. It'd be a smugglers paradise if it weren't such a pit." He said. "..and mate, if you do go lookin for that Fortunato fella...be careful. That bloke smells of the Taint. "

Suddenly, the wind blew through the chimney of the bar and brushed down the fire. The flame smoldered, then resumed its flame. For a moment, I swore I could hear soft drums outside.

"How so?" I asked.

In my travels, I had heard ancient folks refer to an old slang term called_ The Taint_. It usually described someone who was evil, or was dubious. The term was little more than a slang phrase with forgotten origins. I brushed it off as the ramblings of a drunken miner.

"Sometimes you can just feel it. Fortunato's eyes swirled black and he smelt of bad spice an' sin. The lot of 'em chew some rot weed. He ain't no pirate neither..not sure where he's from, maybe that _Leng_. Him and his black hands with covered faces and dirty eyes probably all from that place." The miner said with confidence. " I wouldn't trust none of 'em"

"Where could I find this man?" I asked.

"Zangramoore.. maybe down by the port, loadin' rum and gold with those beedy black eyed 'blokes. I haven't seen 'em in months though." He said as he dug into his pockets." Just smell for 'em down there and ya'll breath that Leng air. Stinks it does." The miner said."He could be anywhere though."

As the drinks poured and we discussed many more stories of Vrusks and Shale Snakes, I sensed the night was at an end. With a wobble to my walk, I thanked the chatty miner, and bought him and his group a last healthy round of drinks.

The miner warned me as the night wore on. "Dem people of Leng whisper to strange things in strange tongues, mate. Old Things best forgotten...be careful of all them." he said. '..and friend if ya' do one thing, bring your blaster when you deal with them."

The night wore long. As the place closed down, I stumbled from the bar knowing my current hunt was ruined. In the morning, I awoke to a heavy head, murky vision and a lighter wallet. My Vrusk hunt was shot.

I wondered if I had just too much to drink and imagined the whole story. But as I looked at my hands, I saw the black soot of the miner and smelled the stale hint of Omertan Rum.

I knew my encounter was real.

Despite the hangover, I had a new motivation. I resigned myself to find this Captain named Fortunato and the forsaken world of Leng. My "Old Faithful" pistol was always by my side.

I would make the Kali Tiger my chief quarry.

Inside my heart, the fire of my rage burned bright. I thought, deep in my soul,_ This was the one_, .


	5. Chapter 5

The hunt for the the man named "Fortunato" proved to be much more difficult than I had imagined. In fact, the search caused me much trouble, and a few bruises.

_The Crawling Chaos_ bar was my shop for weeks. After I camped their exhaustively with no luck, I began to venture to other locales.

After scouring the docks on Zangramoore, I searched extensively though the trade ports and markets of Omerta's grandest cities. Of course, I scoured the shady and desolate haunts as well. Omerta was a flavorful world, filled with mystic intrigue and criminal enterprise. To find loose lips on a world of conspirators was never easy.

The ancient bazaars teemed with the sweet smell of the exotic Omertan incense and spices. These markets were wondrous carnivals of a ancient pirate culture. The smell of fantastic foods wafted in the air as vendors roasted strange beasts on open spits. Lusty woman in silks and sequins sold both perfumes and linens. Wines and mead ran freely from great oaken casks. Hundreds of cultures and alien races frequented these nexus of commerce. Omerta was known for the best trade routes in the known human reach.

Even there, I searched those places and found nothing. Most of the time, when I asked other travelers and miners of "Fortunato", they denied any knowledge of the name.

As I searched the planet, the man proved to be a phantom.

In dark and seedy star port districts, near the great Omertan smuggling hubs, I found nothing but awkward looks. Many a shady longshoreman in Omerta's port rebuked the mention at the mere name of the man.

Some rough port hands in these places gave me a sour look, as if I was crazed. Some threatened violence upon me after they heard me utter the name. These incidents never ended well. I got into a few scraps over the search. It was by mere sophistication and civility that I did not introduce those violent hands to my "Old Faithful" Revolver. Despite the urge, I always remained calm and _mostly_ avoided the conflict. In Omerta, discretion was always the better part of valor. Murder and manslaughter was nothing strange here. Everyone was armed to the last.

Eventually, my hard work paid off.

I made my hunt back to Zangramoore and the underbelly abode called _The Crawling Chaos. _

_The Chaos_ was a dingy hole, even by Omertan standards_. _I never had much luck even getting a local to speak with me there. That night,I sat in the place for hours with little result, save for a warm buzz and belly. The locale was covered with flies and filth, a nest of the worse sort of smugglers on this world. Most of the occupants were too drunk or high to speak a word. The bartender was a thick skinned Venusian with a short manner. I fought off dirty looks from a handful of scruffy patrons, but as time passed, the mood lightened and the pour of mead dulled the tension. Despite the grime, the drinks were strong and the stout was cheap. The favorite special of the place was a venomous slop of rum and local juices dashed with a drop of a "secret ingredient" (of which I was told was _certainly_ a dash of "Omertan Gold"). After only one, my head felt fuzzy and off. I switched back to the mead with haste.

The rough locals became more friendly in time. The drinks poured late, a few of the pirates opened up. Stories of war and women danced a midst the clank of iced stein glasses . That night, I found a couple of the men had served in common military units during the war. For a veteran, brothers in arms are never hard to find.

Eventually, I opened to one particular pirate of the name "Fortunato" . He was a younger man, who had served in the UCF Navy aboard a combat ship I had been transported on during the war. When I told him of my interest to locate the man, he took a long swig from his punch and nodded. With a dour look on his face, he pointed me to the back of the bar, to a dank doorway that lead to the black alleys behind.

He looked around to check the bar for anyone listening. "A gypsy woman hangs out in the alley." He sniffed and checked the room again. "She will know the name." He told me.

I thanked the man and bought his drink. Before I left, he thanked me as well. He offered to shake my hand and I accepted. His hand was cold and clammy.

I was taken off guard when he suddenly grabbed my arm and squeezed it hard. He squinted his eyes and whispered low.

_"_Be careful, Colonel" He warned in a raspy voice. "There are things in the dark places of this world far worse than the J'narr"

I nodded to the man and slapped him on the back as brothers would. As I finished my last sip of mead, I set the money down on the top of the bar and made for the back door.

The dark portal creaked open as I cracked the door to the alley. The smell of wet garbage and carrion was not subtle. The smell of ammonia and strange vinegar caught me off guard.

Trash and debris were stacked in piles along the side of the brick and metal buildings. The scene was a dark mess. The old cobblestone streets were warped with large puddles and old age. Vermin scurried with the change in light. As I shut the door, the only illumination was the distant glow from the main street.

The place had a dim lit back alley lined with trash and sleeping drug addicts. It was there I met a dark haired woman who showed me the way.

The hour was late now, my head ached with the effect of alcohol or worse. Outside, darkness had set in. Between two palates of trash and small door way leading to the underground, I glimpsed the dark eyed woman with tussled black hair.

She gnawed on a strange root that looked like a pasty green onion. I could smell the ammonia from the strange root. I could only guess the stuff had some kind of intoxicating effect.

I could not tell what race of human she was. She was exotic, yet simple. She was dark eyed and mysterious, solid and built, even for a drug addict. Her black curls flowed at wild angles. She was certainly not a woman of Earth or the Jovian moons.

I nodded at her dark eyes as she probed my soul.

"Woman, have you heard the name of Fortunato?" I asked.

She set the root in her pocket quickly. As if nervous she reached for a small pipe and puffed on the glass object. With curiosity, she looked deep at me again. Despite her odd vagrant allure, her eyes looked tired and sad.

"Forty Credits." She said, with no hesitation in her voice.

In her eyes, I could see the sting of hopeless addiction. _Were those dark swirls in her eyes?_ Omerta's worst narcotics had effected her for certain. She took another puff from her water pipe as I reached into my pockets for the money. I wondered if she would have helped me if it were not for the obvious need for her demon fix.

I handed her the folded Omertan currency. Forty credits. I did not try to haggle with her. She snatched the bills and looked at them.

The lady eyed me with a crazed look. Her dark lips curled into a sinister smile. The money pleased her. _There would be sustenance for her habit tonight._

"Fortunato, yes." She said as her mouth curled. "He is my dealer." She nodded, as if she was unafraid to admit her addiction. "Do you seek his Gold for your worries? The Weed? He will have both."

"No." I said without a pause. "I seek answers. He knows of a tiger, a beast. I am a hunter."

She spit on the cobblestones at the sound of the word tiger. "A hunter, hah! I will not say _its_ name." She said. "Yes, he waits for you no doubt. A slayer of beasts."

"Yes, that's right." I said.

Her smile turned into a serious glance. She shook her head.

"Fortunato" She replied."He is a wisp on the wind. A man of the grand plateau he is, like I am a woman of that forsaken place. I do not regret for one second my choice to leave that place, even though I still walk the dark places of _his_ realm." She laughed into the darkness. "Yes, handsome man, I know the name Fortunato."

"He would be a guide for the _Old Traveler_ who approaches from beyond. Servant of the black one, _The Dark Star_. Yes, young man, I know Fortunato and he will lead you to your tiger."

She laughed into the depths of the alley. Rats and mice scurried about the trash. Again, I could hear drums patter beyond the limits of the street. _Was that some distant fair?_

"Who are you woman? I have never seen a human of your look." I asked.

She smiled and guided her hand down her sultry form. She shook her hips in the weak light of the street.

"We are both of the world some call _Leng_" She added with a horrid laugh. "Others call it by worse names."

She toked a large puff from her water pipe and offered a seductive look.

"She is a goddess you know. One of your _new gods_ of Earth. Her power grows, but she is strong." The woman mumbled.

I gave a confused look.

"I don't understand." I said.

The woman looked around and did not reply.

I was puzzled by the way the woman talked. She mentioned subjects I did not understand. Her drug of choice must have been strong, and she was certainly under its influence. I needed a straight answer.

"Where can I find him?" I asked.

She laughed and looked to the night sky. The stars were out and she inhaled the Omertan winds. In the background, I could hear the chortle of drunken men and woman as they caroused through the street. The drums still remained.

She waved her hands and arms around like she was in a trance, Her words mumbled in some weird language I had never heard. The distant drum sounded as she shook her wide hips in rhythm with the movement. Suddenly, her eyes opened. She brought the dark pipe to her mouth and inhaled the black smoke. Her eyes went white as she breathed out the crisp clouds.

Again, I swore I could see her eyes swirl with a cloud of tar like _coagulation_. _Was she infected with some sort of disease as well? _It would not have surprised me.

"I need to find him, lady, stop this game." I ordered. The woman had a strange effect.

She gathered herself and paused to speak.

The woman eased herself close to me and whispered in my ear, "Fortunato rides the dark chariot. He does the Traveler's work. The vessel is called _The Night Gaunt_ . It is in the lower deck below this mill." She waved to the nearby bar. "He is in port now."

"Thank you, woman." I said as I put another coin of twenty credits in her hand.

She clutched the money and squeezed my wrist.

"He waits for you now. Below." She added as she pointed down and leaned her hips. As she smiled she offered one last phrase; "Never trust Fortunato, handsome man. He is evil."

I looked at the woman. She gave me a wide grin as her black hair whipped around her dirty face. Despite her filth she had a certain quality I can not describe.

A crash sounded behind her, more rats scurried between the bins of refuse.

I gripped my trusted revolver by its handle under my coat.

"Goodbye" I said as I left the woman standing.

She moved her arms in an alien gesture and nodded. Her eyes never left mine as I walked away. The gaze of her dark eyes seemed to burn deep into my soul. I swore I could hear those drums again. I could hear them just above the distant noise of Omerta's street carousers.

As I walked away, I could see her spit on the ground and count the money again. "How lady like" I said under my breath.

Her smile shifted to a strange and evil grin. In some weird way, her eyes burned of hatred and love all at once. Perhaps, she was just mad. She laughed with a shattered cackle as I backed away.

The air felt cold and the Omertan wind gusted through the buildings. As she disappeared into the darkness of the alley, again I thought of her white eyes and how they swirled with clouds of something like black tar. _The Taint._ It was a term I had heard a half dozen times in my military travels. Why did that term come back to me when I saw this woman's eyes? The drugs and narcotics of Omerta's dark haunts were strange and wicked, but this seemed different.

I left the dark place with no further pause.

In Omerta's old cities, this is always wise advice.

As I drifted down to the lower ship docks, the vessels looked grungy and seedy. The deeper I descended , the worse the ship. In the depths, were the less desirable slips of the lower regions. Here, the space plots were cheap and few questions were asked. Scoundrels and cutthroats darted about the paths between ships. I never saw one custom's agent or port official in those lower places. There were too many stairs down for them.

Many of Omerta's pirates and criminals hid down in these depths to conduct dusky transactions and murderous deals. I had been in much worse dens of evil in my day, but not I walked down the dark stairs, I gripped my "Old Faithful" pistol tight and prepared to use the weapon if needed.

At last, on the dark decks below, I finally found the vessel known as the _The Night Gaunt_.

As advertised, the ship was a black beast. Large , yet formidable. The guns were impressive and the engines were fast. Despite the grunge and rough lines, it was a dangerous ship.

When I arrived, a greasy turbaned man stood alone and leaned against the hull. Like the drug crazed woman, his eyes were dark and his features were grimy. He chewed on the narcotic weed I had seen the woman at the Crawling Chaos chew. Behind him, dark eyed and primal tribesman shuffled about loading boxes and freight onto the ebon star cruiser. Around the bustle of workers, there was little shouting or loud banter. It was all business at this hour. The hooded men hardly looked up at me as I approached the ship. They worked with their heads low and an insect like determination in their step.

The turbaned man gave me a wide grin as he chewed his habit. Unlike the woman above, he had no shame of the root.

"Hello, mon." He said as I walked forward.

With one look, I knew this turbaned man had to be the pirate Fortunato.

He looked up at me with his brown eyes and spit on the wooden deck. His teeth were mostly rotten. His smile gave me more concern than reassurance. A more treacherous grin I had never seen. He looked like he could have been the dark woman's brother. He was her twin. I guessed they were the same strange race. Naturally, Fortunato would have been a man of Leng. His large frame was lean and muscled. His cheeks were sunken but not starved. He looked dangerous and high.

"Are you 'da hunter I seek?" He asked with his wide smile.

The question caught me off guard. _How would he know?_

"Why would you know I was coming?" I asked with reasonable concern.

He laughed and looked around.

"Like all tings I prayed to my _Masta'_ for a boon" He said as he gnawed on his stick of green. "Den I see you. It a simple thing." He said as he spit off chunks of his drug into the cliffs below the docks.

He shook his finger."The Ole Traveler does not fail me. He listens to my calls and speaks to me in my dreams."

"I don't understand" I replied. Rather than dive into an explanation of some fringe cult religion I changed my response to a simple nod.

"Tell me of this beast. It's a tiger?." I said.

Fortunato smiled and slapped me on the back.

"Good man" He said, as he picked his teeth. "yeah, a tiger. A predator unlike my people eva' know. We need a great hunter an' man. We need ya', mon"

My mind wandered at his words. For a moment, I daydreamed to my worst memories of the war.

Fortunato broke my daze. He switched his tone to a more serious tone as he leaned against a wooden shelf. "The folks call it da' _Kali_ Tiger"

I looked at him in his eyes. They seemed to course with the blotchy oil spots of dark black.

"I see." I said as I scratched the whiskers on my chin. "I may be of help"

The dark smuggler looked at me with an evil grin. "We are a simple race who live on a place dey call da' plateau o' Leng. Some oters' call it a strange world. I call it home, mon. The _Kali_ Tiger came to us at da' same time as a bigun' plague. It been goin' for months an it take a' toll."

"It has killed people?" I inquired.

"Yes." Fortunato replied "Over three hundred since it appeared. Fourteen in one day on the eve of my last trip to dis world. Da' people o' Leng cry for a champion, mon."

I looked at the ship and noted the size of the hull. This was a smuggling ship for sure. The boxes the men were loading were clearly drugs and weapons.

"How big is this beast?" I asked.

Fortunato coughed and shuffled in place.

"Huge, mon. It kill big groups o' armed men. Couple a times da' size o' deese Vrusks 'ere. A big cat o the old world, mon, plenty scary." He said. He pretended to rake his hands like claws and bar red his teeth as if they were cat fangs. He had bits of the green root wedged in his rotten teeth. His breath stunk of ammonia.

"Well, where the hell would it come from?" I asked. "I've never even heard of tigers outside earth."

Fortunato shook his head.

"Can't say boss. Nobody done see 'em on Leng. I ha' heard of ole' cats that kill my people in old times, but 'dis one is legend." Fortunato said. "My chief..'e ell ya more. He 'da smart one on my world."

Fortunato grabbed my wrist. The act caught me somewhat off guard, I nearly pulled out "Old Faithful" and blasted him right there.

"You be needin yo' body elixirs, friend. Bring yo' best gear. Leng has foul air for yo' kind. Da' gravity is no joke. The jungles are filled with poison and danger." He said.

I nodded.

"I'm experienced with deadly places. My gear is the best." I replied with confidence. I clicked the safety back on my pistol.

Fortunato gave a wide grin and spit some of the weed out from his teeth. "Leng you will find, may surpass these other places you know. It danger , mon...no joke."

I nodded again.

"I will need two men to act as guide and mule my equipment. I will need to ensure protection from any local politics or hostile tribesman. Those things are unacceptable." I said.

Fortunato nodded.

"OK, I can give you those things. Leng is a peaceful place, mon. We can speak wit' my chief and he will get 'em. He is a wise leader." Fortunato promised.

"Alright then" I replied. "I'll do it."

Fortunato straightened his turban and gave me another beaming smile. He shoved another one of the narcotic weed stems in his mouth. The plant stunk of deep ammonia.

"Ok, mon" He said. "We leave in tree hours, no joke." Fortunato said as he extended his arm to offer his hand.

As we shook hands, Fortunato sent a group of men to secure my equipment.

"Its a deal." I replied.

Later, Fortunato explained, the trip to Leng was a four week space flight through a rugged path filled with bandits and asteroids.

The dark pirate told me more of Leng while we both got one last drink at the _Crawling Chaos._

Recently, the beast had appeared in the area of the north of a larger star port in Leng, near strange ruins that the local tribesmen held sacred.

He knew the strange tiger had recently acquired a taste for the flesh of men, though he knew not why. Fortunato could not offer me advice if the beast was wounded or lost. These were conditions I knew could drive a cat to hunt men. According to Fortunato, the monster came from nowhere. The cat was a ghost. The people of Leng had lost the ability to hunt such a monster, so they would be glad to see a foreign man willing to stalk the beast. In fact, they needed it.

Again Fortunato said the words."We _need_ ya, mon" My memory faltered as I thought of a vision of faceless child as she said the same words.

Of the actual tiger, Fortunato knew little else.

He confirmed that it was much like a predatory cat of Earth, though much larger. It was highly intelligent and deadly. He assured me it was a worthy adversary, even for a hunter of my renown. While I was humbled by these words, Fortunato had a sinister glimmer in his eyes as he discussed this. From the twinkle in his blotchy dark eyes, I knew it would be unwise to trust him completely.

My timing had been perfect, almost too perfect. The deal was set in Omertan rum as my gear was loaded on board _The Night Gaunt._ Unfortunately for me,Fortunato could drink like a fish.

Later, I stood in front of the dark ship as we prepared for launch. Another Omertan hangover was already setting in. _Damned Omerta_, I thought to myself.

Despite the headache, the outlook was promising. The ship captain was highly accommodating. Fortunato even offered to return me to Omerta after the trip was done, as he had extensive and regular business on the planet. His space trips, no doubt also laden with "Omertan Gold", seemed like a profitable venture. _The Night __Gaunt_ was clearly an expensive and powerful vessel, despite the dinge and grime. The ship's holds were large and its fusion engines looked fast. The large proton cannons were a reminder of how dangerous life as a smuggler could be.

A few hours later, I boarded Fortunato's dark ship for the planet of Leng.

My adventure to hunt the most dangerous beast in the galaxy was now officially underway. I wondered if this was the one great hunt I had felt when I looked to the stars in my post war stupor. _A new life_. Every bone in my body told me it was. The fire inside my soul told me I was right. _This was a righteous hunt._

I passed by sullen faced cloaked figures as I walked the halls of the ship. For a second, I thought I saw a thread of red hair under the cloak of one rogue.

The flight was long, the quarters were stuffed with smelly Omertan herbs, drugs and the equally malodorous dark eyed ship mates.

The journey was rough travel, but nothing I was unaccustomed to. I settled in for the long weeks ahead. The hooded crewmen were never interested in chit chat or old war stories.

As I observed the crew, I did notice one slender hand who followed my movements around the ship. I could see the agile figure peer at me through the crowd on occasion. Again, instead of the dark eyes of others, I could swear I saw a flash of green and a swab of red hair under a dark cloak.

The journey was underway, however, as I stalked the halls of the greasy ship, I was now positive I was being watched.


	6. Chapter 6

As I stalked the halls of the Night Gaunt one evening, the green eyed crewman followed me close . In preparation for a possible attack, I began to plan some sort of defense if the scoundrel tried to rob me in the night.

One evening, after a brutal supper of an unidentifiable meat on the middle deck, I made an effort to retire to my small but modest quarters. As I tried to sleep in an uncomfortable and mottled hammock, I felt the cold pinch of a blaster tucked into my back from below. _Damn, this one was good_, I thought. I realized the bandit had gotten the better of me, I worried it would be a fatal mistake. The bandit spoke to me in a hushed tone,"Do not move" He said. Despite the grim situation, the voice sounded elfish and soft, like a woman. As the figure rose up to my face, I could only see the eyes of the man. They looked strangely warm and slight. In the cloaked face, sparkled Green jewels that shined in the darkness.

"What is your business on this ship and forgotten Leng?" Asked the stranger.

"I am a hunter. My quarry is game." I responded.

"You are Jovian. I can tell. You look of war and loss but smell of sweet valleys and pleasant birds. There are no trout or partridge on the black plateau, Jovian." He whispered.

"I thank you for that complement, I guess." I said from my back as I smiled. The blaster was pressed against my head now. "Could you lower that blaster so we could speak?" I requested. "I am no hunter of love birds. dark stranger." I said with a smile

I looked up to see the figure before me. The shape was not as it seemed. Instead of a dusky rogue of stunted alien features, there was an wide hipped orange skin woman of Kal with wild red hair by my side. She tucked the blaster into her pants and fixed her dark cloak over the weapon. I could see a patch of her skin under the cloak. On her stomach was a strange tattoo of a dark eclipse. A black sun with rays of light that sprung forth. Quickly she pulled a dark shirt down over the mark. Like most Kalish woman, she looked like she could handle herself in a fight. _A frost maiden of the Red Tribe_.

The woman brushed aside her fire red locks and looked at me with dark green eyes.

"Love birds, you say?" She said with disappointment. "You are a fool to be here." She said with a scowl.

"I see." I said from my bed. "An attractive human woman, alone on a dirty space pirate ship filled with perverted souls who would rape and murder in a heart beat.. and I am the fool?"

She smiled.

"So he recruited you to hunt down the Kali Tiger?" She asked.

"He did. He said the thing came from nowhere and was a pox on his people." I replied.

She chuckled.

"A Samaritan? Did you wonder if some places do not deserve a plague?" She asked.

"I know they do. The J'Narr could have.." I said as I was interrupted.

"The J'narr _are_ _nothing .They are gone_." She interrupted. "Leng is _real_ and it festers. Their are places in this galaxy that are_ tainted._ Spoiled. Evil beyond redemption."

"..And this is Leng" I jumped in.

"If you knew what you spoke of, there would be no jokes." She said as her voice dropped. "Just remember when you descend into the depths and uncover the secrets of that damned place.. tigers and wild beasts are nothing compared to the evil that men do." she said.

"So who are you?" I asked.

She looked out the small sliver in the door to the breezeway. Quickly, she looked back at me with those intoxicating green eyes. As if some magic captured me, I knew I could trust the woman.

"I am a friend, Colonel Montressor." She said with a smirk as she pulled the dark hood over her heaving red hair.

"What is that mark I see on your yellow skin?" I asked. She looked surprised at the skill of my vision. She smiled.

"I will seek you out on the planet in time, if you make it long enough. Be careful down there. Enjoy your hunt." I heard the twist of the door.

But before I could realize, she shot at me like a trained weapon.

She grabbed my arm and pinned it to the bed. A hand went over my mouth. It was like a grip of iron. Her face lunged for mine and I could feel the warmth of her breath and the smell of rugged lavender. She was stronger than an Ox. Part of me did not know whether to fight for my life or sit back and relax. She spoke in whisper. "And whatever you do, beware the places marked with the smell of the _Taint_..the mark of the false God. You know the smell. They would call him the_ Traveler_. You will know it when you see."

I wondered about her words. _The Taint_. I felt her hand lift over my mouth. She shuffled in her cloak. Without warning, I smelled the foul pungent odor of some cosmic ether. The fumes curled my lips and darkness fell upon me. _Poison, _I thought as I passed into sleep_._

I awoke several hours later, still on my hammock and unharmed.

My head ached and my bones were sore, but I was functional. I knew the meeting was real when I could see the sign burned in to the wooden door. A dark sun with rays of light. An eclipse with an exaggerated _corona_. It was the same mark as the woman's tattoo.

I tried for weeks, but I could not find the woman again among the crew of the ship or in any of her holds. I had no clue how the woman got off a star ship flying faster than the speed of light through the void of space. But, nevertheless, she was gone.

I told no one of my experience.

The night before we were to arrive in Leng's orbit, I laid out my gear as I always did before a hunt. Four bandoleers of Maxi coated _Rykon_ shells for my rifle. The rounds were high velocity and reinforced with Rykon steel, thick enough to put down a beast twice as big as earth's elephant and made to penetrate a hide ten times as thick.

I dissembled my trusted plasma revolver I called "Old faithful". Carefully, I cleaned and oiled all the working parts before I reassembled it. The weapon never left my side.

In the ruck sack, I set out ten boxes of plasma enriched concussion rounds. Forbidden on most worlds, the bullets looked like clear vials filled with swirling shampoo. I also had one box of flare rounds. Next to those, there was one box of "ball" ammunition made from unstable Fexicon. These rounds were excellent for blowing apart doors or obstacles.

With care, I broke down my trusted M709 Wayfarer hunting rifle and cleaned the parts with great care. The sport model was a modified version of a battle rifle I had used in the war. The model was one of the better sniper rifles available in the UCF arsenal. Though I was only a modest shot, I felt comfort with the weapon. Between this version of the rifle and its military counterpart, I had ended the lives of many living things. So too , the rifle had saved my life on more than one occasion.

Another section of my gear was my clothes (extra socks were always a savior), medical kit, a collapsible camp and tent set, and emergency food supplies. I also had some communication equipment , though I doubted it would do me much good on backward Leng. I tried to keep modern technologies to a minimum. This was a sport, after all, and if I was interested in challenges with safer parameters I would have been back on Ganymede fly fishing for trout.

There was one item I put into my bag that did not fit this bill.

The apples sized device was sophisticated. As for destruction, few items were made that could match it;s power. As I held the round ball, I hoped I would never have to use the thing. _Just in case._ As I ran my finger over its lines, the metal shell had a small light on it that blinked green. A small pin was set in a protruding cylinder. This was no mere sport weapon. This was a_ bomb_, a UCF Fusion Grenade made to blow apart the worst foes. Not enough to blow a city, but enough to take out a few solid acres. It was my final guarantee that, even in defeat, I might take the life of my prey.

The item was, of course, highly illegal, but my service as a Colonel in the UCF still had certain privileges.

After a long month aboard the _Night Guant_, Leng came into sight of the long range scanners. When I finished my final pack, I met Fortunato on the bridge to observe the ship's approach. The place looked like a dark lump of waste. Just as the miner had said, it was a lone mottled world orbiting a hidden brown dwarf sun. It's thick sickly atmosphere blanketed any view of the surface below. A low rent greenhouse world. I had seen the type before. Leng's sun barely gave off enough light to see the world.

It would be hell for any possible rescue mission to find this place. The world sat further than usual for a "brownie" for a naturally habitable world. I guessed the world had been terraformed at one point, but it was hard to tell.

When I asked Fortunato for the coordinates to the world, he only smiled.

"That is a smugglers secret, mon.. and not in our deal." He said. As I stood on the ship's bridge, Fortunato explained to me the strange atmosphere and conditions on Leng allowed life to live "comfortably " on the planet. I smirked when he tried to sell this.

I did not press the matter of coordinates further, though I regret it now.

At the time, I had few worries I had gotten myself into a situation for which there would be no possible exit. Again, what a fool I was.

In my zeal, I broke a golden rule of both warfare and hunting. _Never walk into a situation when there is no way out._

Both hindsight, and ignorance, are indeed bliss.


	7. Chapter 7

We landed on Leng a few hours later. The old star port was beyond decrepit and well past it's prime.

Much to my amazement, the place smelled worse than the ship. Crumbling pagodas and terra cotta ruins were sprinkled between modern technology. Next to both of these, filth and agricultural refuse sat in stinking piles. Livestock ran in between old unused terminals. Bugs and pests lurked in every shadow. The halls were overrun with a sneaky breed of three eyed rat.

Unsurprisingly, Leng was a _total dump._

It was clear the port saw little action from space vessels and inter stellar transit. I saw no UCF garrison in the place or other ship lines, nor did I expect one. To call the port "lightly trafficked" would be a vast understatement. It was a phantom zone. There were no other ships I could see anywhere, few people, and even more rats and vermin. The technology of the place looked hundreds of years behind even the most backward colony. The halls of the port were dirty and dank. Small shadowy men bounced forth in secret. It appeared the locals all had the same sense of fashion; _seedy_. The people of Leng looked much like the rest of the _Night Gaunt's_ crew, pasty skin with dark blotchy eyes and strange stains on their cloths.. The dark signs reminded me of black tar blotched their skin. It was almost as if they struggled against some type of topical malady or disease. They were certainly a human species, but as far from the known tree of humans as I had ever seen.

In short order, I discovered the people of Leng's demeanor matched their visage.

I found them to be a race of few words, aside from a grunts and groans. I do not tend to hold bias against different races of peoples or aliens. Prejudice is an enemy of all. I have worked with many different cultures and species in my days. But Leng's population was something strange. The gravity of Leng was strong. As a result, the locals were stout and burly, much larger than men of earth. They hid thick muscled abdomens and wide legs in baggy cloaks and with slumped posture, but they were no race of elves or weaklings.

Beyond the walls of the port, a small village serviced the area. It smelled of burned garbage and filth. Stray dogs ran back and forth between the shacks. After that, the dark Jungle stretched out as far as I could see. The noise of the bush was haunting. It was a primordial sight of dancing birds and giant insects.

We rested for a few hours in a mud hut outside of the port. Fortunato prepared a soup made from a bitter root. The mess tasted like a sugar beet boiled in motor oil.I ate a serving but did not ask for seconds. Fortunato provided me a greasy bedroll and a dirt floor for a bed. My stomach rumbled as I tried to sleep. Outside the hut, I could hear the grunts and crashes as Fortunato's crew unloaded strange boxes off of _The Night Gaunt_. No doubt, the good people of Leng had been restocked with a healthy supply of Omertan Gold.

A few hours later, Fortunato and I left through the pointed wooden gates and in to the jungle. Our destination was for Leng's capitol, a town called _Shar-Natha_.

Like the surrounding port, the our conveyances were from a different era, the cruddy one.

Fortunato showed me to a run down four wheel drive axle vehicle. It was an old earth style jeep. The thing was a rust bucket dinosaur. The age on the thing was epic, and the engines puffed with burning old gasoline. The smell of roasting fossil fuels sizzled in the thick air of Leng.

"Be careful, mon." He said as he laughed. "Dis thing older than de both of us!"

The engine belted out a noise of metal grinding and gears struggling. Evidently like any old burro, the ride was stubborn and non cooperative. Fortunato kicked at the car and swore in a guttural unintelligible language. Slowly, the engine spit out a regular idle. Fortunato looked pleased. I stood there in disbelief as he patted the passenger seat like the ride was some sort of old dog.

"See dat?" he said "Its no problem!"

Fortunato flipped one of the fresh sticks of green root into his mouth as he swatted the driver seat with his hand. He gnawed on the death root of Leng constantly. I could only imagine what it did to his teeth. It gave off the sickly smell of fetid ammonia as we rolled away from the port. As I mounted the old jeep, I felt like my foot would go through the floor.

A dusky bearded man with a dark robe jumped in the back of the vehicle with a hundred year old assault rifle. Two more rickety vehicles followed behind us as we rolled out of the port village.

During the rugged trip, I noted the hostile and aggressive land of Leng. Truly, this was an impressive place of danger. The roads were a waste of dark mud and gravel. The jungles were as thick as I'd seen. Giant stalked vegetation had massive thorns to protect against huge predators. The plants were colored sickly yellows or browns. I reasoned the weak sunlight must been involved. The lack of a bright sun, however, had no effect on the sheer quantity of plant life. Leng was overgrown. The gnarled vegetation weaved an impassable wall of thick brush all around. Thorns and burrs stuck out everywhere. The canopy went high in the sky and blotted out even more of the pale twilight sun. It was always dusk on Leng. Much of the vegetation was either carnivorous or poisonous. Voracious insects, larger than I had ever seen , plagued us constantly.

The chaperon of the caravan, a bearded and foggy eyed man of Leng who sat in the rear seats, took potshots at large buzzing things with his old assault rifle as we drove to the town. I noted it was a relic of a gun, a Venusian three shot Mass Driver Rancher type. I heard him shout curses and taunts. He said little else. A bandoleer of three shot ammo boxes hung around his chest. As we bounced down the road, he gnawed on a pasty old cigar in his teeth, blowing huge plumes of smoke in the air. A supply of the narcotic roots hung out of a pocket on his shirt. He bellowed mad laughter when he hit something. Thelooked like he had just raided the cosmic banana republic goon store.

The bugs constantly bit and snapped at exposed skin at my feet and flesh out here. Leng was a hungry place. I learned quickly to cover my skin whenever I could. It didn't take me long to figure out Leng's pests were a thing of legend. Bundling up, however, didn't go so well with the humidity and temperature of the place. It was a pleasant take on the rock and a hard place. The heat was sweltering. Thick atmosphere , rife with greenhouse gasses , kept the humidity uncomfortable and toxic. Carbon levels soared to dangerous levels. The visibility was always clouded in the thick brown foggy haze of the world. I coughed vigorously all too often. God knows what else was out here in the air. I knew I would have trouble on foot in this place.

Leng's climate made me crave the old controlled UCF issued battle suits I had used in days past. Air conditioning and fresh oxygen was always helpful. It was nice to have such a tool in war, but I knew there was little sport in such an advantage. At any rate, I had been in worse holes with less. The conditions of Leng were nothing more than a variable to add challenge to my hunt.

Fortunato jerked the wheel as we slid through the mud. He looked at me as he drove through what passed for a highway. His eyes strayed dangerously from the road with no real regard for anyone's safety.

"This place Leng , its a miracle, sir" Fortunato said to me as he steered through the wild roads. He waved his hand toward the jungle around us. Fortunato smiled and pieces of the narcotic weed were stuck in between his rotten teeth.

"How so?" I asked in disbelief anyone could think the place more than an armpit.

"Da' brown dwarf worlds are always special" He said. "Not too many worlds like it. It is always twilight here. The planet is locked and don't turn. " He said. "The rest of Leng is a bad place. deep pressures and very bad. Massive things down in those depths that hunt each other. _I mean massive mon_. It ain't no place for a person. They leave us alone up here. So all the guys out der like your old soldjas leave us alone."

I wondered about the land below the jungle. _What was Fortunato talking about?_

"Why do the monsters down there not touch us?" I asked my guide.

_Monsters in the depths?_, did Leng have more prey for me than just this tiger?_ When I think how my mind worked then, I was such a fool!_

"Leng is on a huge plateau ." he said again. " Its a hundred miles in the sky it is. Wide as a continent. We rise above the bad clouds and live here. Those things down below. I don't tink dey can breath up 'ere." he replied.

"How could life evolve on such a narrow band of habitability?" I asked with interest.

"_Miracle,_ mon. That's what I told ya right? Our _Travela _always shows us the way." Fortunato said with a cackle. He grabbed one of the narcotic weed stalks and shoved it in his mouth. His eyes flickered and swirled. "_Papa_ tell you more."

"Who? Papa?" I inquired.

The dark man swerved hard to avoid a bad part of the road, a fallen tree, rife with needle like thorns across it's bark. From nowhere, A big lizard ran along side our jeep and looked at me with a reptilian smile. The thing darted off as quick as it came.

Fortunato gnawed at the weed in his mouth. "Papa's our leader. He's got more of your answers."

It was hard to keep Fortunato focused. He was clearly high as a kite. I would have hated to bite it in a car crash before I even had a glimpse of any tigers.

As the jeep rumbled through the mud, I thought about Fortunato's wild words. As fantastic as it was, I made some sense of his ramblings in my head. With my military education, I had some knowledge of xenobiology and astrophysics. Leng sat on a massive plateau in the sweet spot of a tidally locked world, it was a rare gem indeed. Life was difficult on such places. Brown Dwarfs gave off precious little heat. The whole of the planet was uninhabitable by humans except for the plateau. In some ways it was indeed a miracle. Planets that had the needed conditions for biological life on these worlds were almost impossible. There was no way that Leng's people could have been native to this place. They must have come from somewhere else.

I had never heard of a non terraformed world orbiting a "brownie" as pirates called them. These planets were hard to find and perfect places for hideouts or forbidden enclaves. Corporations sometimes targeted them for secret research facilities.

I also recalled the words of the green eyed Kalish girl. _Beware the Traveler_. The words rang in my head. I could smell the lavender on her neck once more. The billows of stinky smoke from the bearded man in the back quickly flushed away the pleasant aroma in my mind.

As I fanned the stench from my face, I noted to Fortunato about the heavy atmosphere and weight on my chest. He gave me a sarcastic grin

"This air is something heavy." I stated. "Poison to me, I'd guess"

"Jah, it thick air 'ere, not mixed in the usual brew. It will get you in time, mon. You got the machine bugs in ya?" He asked. He was clearly referring to the standard nanobiotic implants of degree most soldiers from the civilized parts of the world would have in their system.

I was surprised Fortunato even understood the concept, let alone mentioned them. Those machines were designed to enhance my immune systems and body functions. A gift from my time in the _service _of the UCF.

"Of course" I said."I was in the military for years."

"They gonna struggle, mon. I said they is no place like Leng. They not work well here." He said.

He reached in his pocket and pulled out a white vial. It had a chalky powder within the clear glass container. "Here take dis. It help protect you against Leng's rot, mon...good stuff."

Just as he said this, we passed by a small burning checkpoint.

Out front of the wasted cabin, a neat stack of human sized mummy wrapped bodies were piled up like a small pyramid. A large fire raged in the background and several gaunt figures threw piles of bodies on to the flame. The dead corpses were wrapped in tight white gauze. As we passed closer, a dour woman of Leng with thick black curls looked at me with a huge torch in her hand. Her face ran with black shadows and pasty smudges of a white paint. A black flowing robe danced in the meager wind. _Lady death herself_, I thought. She made no gesture as she lowered the flame to the bodies.

She glanced at me with burning eyes that swirled in darkness. For a moment, I thought I heard the sound of drums.

"Plague, mon" Fortunato said, startling me back to reality. "I told you Leng was bad stuff fer yer kind. Take 'dat medicine I give ya, but don expect magic bugs to help. Otherwise you can chew da root, mon." He said as he pulled out another of the narcotic weeds in his pocket and waved it in the air. It looked like a purple scallion and stunk of vinegar.

I shook my head and he put it back in his pocket.

"It help better I thinks, makes ya feel nice too". He laughed as his bearded friend slapped him on the back and joined in the chuckles.

For a moment, I second guessed myself. _Maybe this hunt was a big mistake_. I wasn't told anything about a damn alien plague.

"Thanks", I said as I put the white vial into my pocket. I could not forget what the strange green eyed woman had told me about Fortunato's true intentions.

What Fotunato did not know is that I had my own supply of such pills. In fact, as a military man who had spent a lifetime traveling, I knew the rigors of other worlds and had brought my own accommodations in the form of viral protection and nanite pills for adjusting to harsh climates. With a gracious smile I accepted Fortunatos gift, only to place the pills deep within my pack.

Fortunato eyed me intently as I stored the item.

After a few more hours of bumps and near misses, we finally puttered up to a grungy village.

Armed men, painted in white and bearing older assault rifles and rocket weapons opened a large wooden gate at the head of the town. I was surprised to see a couple of older J'narr tanks parked at the gate. I could see a painted local behind the control as he sat upright in the cabin. The guy threw me a peace sign as I passed. He wore a UCF style helmet and smiled at me as he chewed on his weed.

The hour was late, but the sky gave off the same sickly twilight glow. I had not slept for much at all on the trip, I was anxious to recover in a proper accommodation.

But Leng had no posh cities. Fortunato surprised me when he informed me this was, in fact, the "capitol city" of _Sahr-Natha _and our destination_._ I did not expect much from the town but the small size and backwards state of conditions surprised even me.

The place was a musty tribal village with hardly a sign it was born of a space faring race.

Fortunato had told me the world of Leng was even older than Earth. The trappings and décor of the town were all a strange tribal style. Like the star port, old ruins of a odd architecture dotted between more modern structures. Huts of stitched grass stood next to apartment complexes in dilapidated shape. More tribal men with pale chalky skin and dark eyes carried crude spears and primal axes, only a few held blasters or older munition powered rifles. Many of the men painted their faces with ash and white paste. They stalked the streets like ghosts with black roots in their mouths. The men and woman wore a mix of tattered modern cloths, stitched local leathers, or even no cloths at all. Most of them chewed the strange narcotic root and smelled of vinegar or ammonia. I even noticed a few of the younger children with the weed in their mouth.

The dark eyed people of Leng seemed little more than stone age neanderthals, rugged, yet sickly. Yet, even in the time lost village, one could sense a former grandeur of the people. As I looked at the crumbled large pagodas covered with infectious barbed vines, I could tell the place had been great long ago. Below my feet, were ancient cobblestones set in elaborate patterns. Caved domed palaces dwarfed in the distance, dried aqueducts pelted with weeds and vermin zig zagged through them. _What this place must have been!_, I thought as I walked around wandering livestock. The city had history, though no one seemed to be able to explain it.

_If only they could see this back in the "civilized world"._ The scholars back on Triton would have quarantined such a place and wrapped it in plastic. It would take an army of white jacketed prodders a lifetime to make sense of this place. It was a marvel after all. The sycophants at the dinner circuits on Ganymede would love to have organized a roundtable discussion on the socioeconomic issues at hand here in hell. It would make a riveting news special for the holo vids. The small children toting rifles and using hallucinogenic drugs could be the advertisement poster.

But Leng was even worse off.

As I walked down the main artery of town, the folks gave me sinister looks of deep mistrust. I had seen many receptions of xenophobic natives to my presence in my time, but this reaction was uniquely dark eyes and painted chalk faces stared into my soul with a haunted effect. I saw few children in the village. Some played with stray animals and vermin near open sewers along the road. There were, unfortunately, plenty of physical deformities in the place. As I stared at a group of conjoined twins, I felt a deep sadness. I wondered if these abnormalities were due to in breeding or the insufficient nutrition of the place. I could only imagine. I never heard any laughter or cries from those huts and apartments. Everyone was strangely silent, like the dark workers on the _Night Gaunt._

As I tumbled down the road, I passed by a brick charnel house. The etched mausoleum's exterior looked like a grim relic of a bad dream. Outside, bodies wrapped in the same white fabric were set in a large pile. Two gaunt men in dark robes lugged the wrapped corpses and through them into a great pyre outside. More victims of some rampant plague.

I was thankful I had the best medical protection money or military service could afford.

Yet, behind everything, I could often swear I heard the gentle beat of drums.

Eventually, Fortunato and the man with the shaggy beard dropped me off at a run down apartment complex. It was a newer style complex made from rusted bits of metal and plaster. My room was bare and dirty. A small mattress was set in the corner with a turned over shipping crate for a nightstand.

I flopped in the bed and let sleep take over.

It was not a peaceful slumber. I spent the most of the next day tossing and turning on that floor.

Acclimating to a planet such as Leng was difficult. When the body attempts to develop a balance with a new planet, I have found the first moments usually turn into strange painful hours of misery. The humidity, the air, the insects biting me and the nannites in my blood adjusting to meet alien pathogens. It was all horrid discomfort. Getting used to the environment on Leng was especially brutal. No clean water, strange food, and noxious carbon heavy air complicated my recuperation. In all my travels, I had never felt nannites struggle so hard to adjust to a semi human world.

So too, the nanobiotic software in my ears that translated languages often struggled with Leng's spoken tongue. The system worked, but it labored to accurately deduce the tongue. Often the translators struggled to process swears or slang. Most of the people had strange accents to my ear. It took great concentration to understand even simple exchanges.

I slept into the next day, as I woke only to eat and drink.

The following night, when I had gotten into a more stable condition, Fortunato knocked on the door of my "suite". As I slept in the dingy apartment with my equipment stacked and ready, he informed me I was finally to meet with the village elder, the man he called "Papa".

The next morning, the meeting took place as planned.

Fortunato came flanked by tow guards with dingy rifles. They both stunk of the root and had unsettling stains on their brown fatigues. Both men looked wild, yet chipped from flint. The lines of a rough life coursed through their faces like canyons.

Fortunato walked me into the central auditorium of a modest ruin in the center of the town. Outside, stray dogs ran from building to building and locals sat around fires of burned trash and rubble. I saw a small child, no older than ten, run between buildings with an old J'narr battle rifle.

The structure was a dimly lit old theater. The lights flickered as I walked in to the great room.

Unlike the other tribesman around him, the chief elder was a short and fat man with a slimy layer of sweat on his brow. Fortunato introduced him to me as Papa. He sat in front of me with dark eyes and stoic painted face. The chalky sweaty paste formed huge clumps on his brow. It gave the man a signature Leng diseased look. He stared at me without expression. His eyes swirled with dark blotches just like everyone else on Leng.

Beside Papa, sat Fortunato, who evidently was a highly respected man in the village. Obviously, he was no lower caste member of the tribe. Several other of the village hunters flanked both men. Some had rifles of older design slung on their shoulder. Together, we formed a ellipse around a central offering that smoldered like incense.

In front of me, Papa wore decorative and ceremonial clothing as he hummed in a low tone. Bright orange spikes hung from a belt and a woven ring mail kilt. His chest was shirtless save for layers of the chalky paint, pasted on in an elaborate pattern. He also wore a stitched band around his arm with a matching tribal headdress. Both the painting on his chest and the inscriptions on the headdress were incredibly elaborate and geometric. Atop his helm, brilliant dark feathers plumed in excess that ran down his back. He wore a necklace made up of small gruesome skulls. I thought the necklace must have been from some local stunted primate, but I never found out for sure. The thing disturbed me and made me recall how the woman had warned me about the people of Leng.

As we gathered, female attendants in dark robes passed out flasks of a sweet honey wine held in wooden decanters. I nodded as one passed me a small plastic cup filled with the wine.

Papa had the look of a man of proper station. He was the high born village elder. With his position and age, it would have made sense that he would be fat with privilege but gilded with treasures of great wealth. He was above the simplicity of menial work.

Behind us, shirtless men who looked like shamans tapped hand drums. Many of them sat before huge piles of the narcotic weed.

When all was settled, the tapping of the drums stopped. The high chief stopped his humming and looked at me with piercing eyes. He spoke to me in a thunderous tone.

We stood in the ellipse as Papa prepared to speak.

"We welcome you here, Colonel Montressor , to the great Plateau of Leng." The chieftain said.

I bowed my head and nodded , though I had no clue why. Perhaps those were not even customs here. I had worked countless negotiations with local tribal leaders during the war. I was not over my head. Overall, the old head bow was a pretty safe move.

Papa sat down around the fire. After he was seated, one of the guards motioned and everyone else sat down

"I know of you Colonel as a hunta o' great beasts. Believe it o' not we also know of what ya do in da' war. Bloody times, sah." Papa said.

_What I did in the War?_ The comment had me surprised. "But how could you know?, I met Fortunato and heard of this Tiger by mere chance" I asked.

"We guided 'ere, mon" Papa said as he tossed a flammable dust into the cairn. A yellow plume of fire, edged with strange purple flame barked from the pit.

"No sirs, in the smoke we seen ya. A man o' da' moons wit blasters an' a big gun. A hunta an captain. I seen you very face. Grey and red whiskers 'an all. _The Travela_ shows us 'deese tings. It hard to tell someone like you who don't walk 'is path. He show us 'da way."

Again, I did not want to digress into strange religions or the wild beliefs of alien cults. I decided to change the subject, as respectfully as possible. "Well, chief what can you tell me of the Tiger?" I asked, getting back to business.

"The _Kali _?" Papa responded. He barked a guttural gibber that I could not understand. Spit formed on the side of his mouth and he whipped it away. "A creepa dat kill hundreds of my people. All warriors or hunta. No woman or Children. It smarter than anything I eva' seen. It show up a few months back out of nowhere. No tiga o' big cats even on this land...on this world..seen none of 'em befo'" He said.

I took a large sip from my honey wine. It was fantastic.

"Fortunato told me about the lands below the plateau, the creatures and dangerous conditions down in those depths. Could this tiger have come from there? It must have come from somewhere." I asked

Papa laughed and booming chuckle. "No, No, sah..down below is giants. The air is poison even worse than up 'ere. Da presah crush ya like a can. Notin down der can live up 'ere." He paused and sipped some wine. "Anyways, I not pay to ask you to figah out where dis bitch came from, I just want you ta hunt an kill it. I want ta put its head my tent. Make a nice coat from its skin. It a basta' that needs ta go."

Papa took a long sip from the decanter of wine. He passed it to me. Reluctantly, I took a small swig straight from the bottle. It was sweet and quite tasteful. At Least Leng had one thing going for it...and good wine was no small claim. Papa snapped his fingers to an attendant and she brought forth a wooden scribed map. He grabbed a stick next to him and pointed at a small mark.

"The tigah hit three small towns around this bend of da rivah." He said as he pointed to the location on the map. " He did the same thing all three times. He murdah a single hunter and den he hit the searchas. Three time he do that."

Papa moved his stick to another mark along what appeared to be the river. "He work dis big town for awhile. He got a few hunters and took out da whole."

"What do the bodies look like?" I asked.

Papa spit on the ground in front of him."He mangle 'em good, they not more 'dan ribbons , mon"

"Did he ever.. eat them?" I asked.

"No, mon, he just rip 'em up good" Papa responded.

Fortunato added, "Sometimes its a quick kill, sometimes he plays with 'em. A few found 'da guts strewn about like he paint with the corpse."

"Sounds like hatred" I said.

"What you say?"Papa asked.

"A beast that doesn't eat his prey and acts that way. Not eating the prey indicates a territorial or dominance killing. The overt violence of the kills suggests a level of emotion. Violence to inspire terror. Now, it seems like the kill is personal. It hates your people." I said.

Papa didn't answer. He gave a dark and concerned look at Fortunato. He whacked another mark with a stick on the map. "here at dis one, I ain't gonna lie 'ta you sah." He took another deep sip of wine. "..at dis town a big group thought dey got 'em pinned down." He said. "''Dey hunt him down to some caves, a whole troop of soldjahs dey was , wit guns and blasters some." Papa looked sad. "but de tiger got 'em all. Forty or so all dead and chewed."

Papa put the stick on an image of a skull on the western portion of the map. "These here are 'da sacred ruins. I want ya to stay away from 'dem. They a place for old ones and our Traveler. We don't want nottin make our God mad. He want nobody 'der and his wrath make a tiger look like nothin." He said as he looked me in the eye.

Papa moved his stick to the edge of the map. "And ya should stay aways from da drop. Da Plateau is awful high up and da drop is a sheer one. Lots o' bad things by the drop. Big birds that snatch and carry a man off. Caves with nasty tings. More ruins we don't want to rustle."

"Ya got any more questions for me?" He said with a tinge of attitude. I wondered if I had hit some sort of nerve with too many questions.

"I'm curious Papa, how can you and your people live on this place in such a dangerous planet? It seems pretty hostile here." I asked.

"Our people be very old. We used to go around in the ships and 'da stars and fight with everybody jus' like you humans. We did it for a long time."Papa scratched his head and looked at Fortunato. "Den a long time ago, my people quit 'da stars and 'da ships and set d' roots on dis place, Leng." He took another sip of wine. "It a special place and got special gifts. _The Traveler_ gave us 'dis place as a gift, and we never leave since." Papa slapped Fortunato on the shoulder "..and dis guy and his men get us some stuff from far off when we need it. Good stuff. We ok 'ere."

I could see Papa held this notion as a point of pride.

Soon, the mood lightened and the wine poured more freely. A huge meal of strange beasts and gourds were served. Dark eyed woman danced naked in the circle as the drums pounded a hypnotic rhythm. Flutes and wind chimes piped a delirious tune as the painted woman danced.

Later, we spoke of the dangerous animals and the mean predators of the place. Papa told me stories of hunting _Selrif_, small dog sized chevrotains who ran through the wild jungle and were hunted for food. He rattled off dozens of lethal monsters that dwelled on the great plateau. As we winded down the bottles of wine , Papa told me one last warning. He looked long and hard at Fortunato before he said it. I wondered really who was in charge of Leng.

"Don't be peekin in those ruins whatever ya do." He said as he nodded to Fortunato.

"If ya can kill dis tiger I can pay ya much." He said. When he said this, a well built woman with thick muscled arms and deep black hair walked over and dumped a container of diamonds and jewels down at the legs of the chieftain. He nodded at her and she walked off.

"We got diamonds and jewels here like you never seen." he said. "All ya got ta do is kill that basta and live to tell."

If Papa had truly known me, he would have known I had no use for money. Only the hunt concerned me.

Before I left, I had one last question.

"Why so careful with the ruins?" I asked.

Papa's face turned grim. Suddenly, the festive room got silent.

Papa gave me a dark look and took a long sip from his honey wine. Fortunato looked long and hard at Papa. The strange exchange almost made me wonder who was in charge. I received no clear reasons why the tiger would haunt such a place. A predator must know his prey.

"If ya smart , ya just stay away from der!" Fortunato butted in. "Don't even chase no tiger in der."

I heard Papa mumbling about strange noises that could be heard from the temples and spiraling sepulchers. But the night was long and the pitchers of wine were gone.

As Fortunato had promised, Papa offered me a pair of armed guides, two tribesman named Gul and Ful. He said they could carry my gear and assist me to navigate the area.

When we were done, I stumbled to my dirty apartment quarters. I was certainly well past drunk, and it felt wonderful. As the thick haze of mid day approached, the town smelled of burnt tires and dead fish.

I spent that night and made my gear ready for travel. I was glad no one had noticed my heavy ordinance. I went to my bed early. In Leng's poison air, I had difficulty falling asleep. I was still not accustomed to Leng's toxic atmosphere. The unsavory wind and danger around me kept my caution up.

As I tossed and turned on the hard dirt floor, I could not get the vision of that wild green eyed Kalish woman out of my mind. I felt her cold blaster on my back and her words from that night in my head. I longed to see her again. I had so many questions of her. I slept with one eye open.

But still, I remained focused on my hunt and the dread tiger. The passion for this hunt fueled the fire inside of me, as such, sleep was even more difficult.

During my sleep, which was more akin to a nocturnal hallucination, I had _wild_ dreams.

I saw strange visions of the of dark ruins. They were the wild catacombs I heard Papa speak of. Etched stone columns and archways opened up into a massive amphitheater. Papa's voice echoed in my head. Drums thumped and woman danced. His words of warning were clear. This was a dangerous place. As my dream turned into nightmare, in the ruins I saw morbid ceremonies by groups of wild black eyed thralls. Men were painted with a chalky thick residue. A strange temple and a dark eclipse lurked over my head. A thundering beat of drums throbbed with maddening pace. Dark eyed men of Leng prostrated before a sick man with a raised sacrificial dagger. The crowd danced in a circle around the twisted effigy of a formless _Dark God_. The god's shape shifted and swirled in the darkness, a black pit of oblivion below it. _The Dark Traveler._ _A portal of unimaginable nightmare._ In these visions, I looked deep in that black gulf. What I saw made me awake before I could decipher its horrid form. Madness felt like it was trying to creep into my head.

The words from the dream echoed in my mind;_ "Push him in!"_, it whispered in my ear.

I awoke in a cold sweat.

To succumb to fear and horror were bridges I did not cross easily. I was a man of war. I was familiar with horror and repression. It had surprised me I had not had dreams of the actual _Kali_ Tiger. Instead, it was these shadowy and unfriendly people I began to distrust. I was confident in my ability to defeat any beast.

Men, however, were capable of a far worse treachery.


	8. Chapter 8

In the morning I met the two guides named Gul and Ful.

Both were rugged tribesmen of the village who had hunted extensively in the plateau around the village. Ful was a massive man of huge proportions. He spoke little and carried huge packs of gear. His brother Gul was much smaller and skinnier, though certainly wired with sinuous muscle and full of energy. Gul was also more chatty. In fact, of all the tribesmen in the area he was the most vocal I had seen yet. I began to consider him "the brains of their operation", although this wasn't saying much. The brute Ful would only muster grunts at my questions but Gul was rife of knowledge of the area and sometimes quite useful.

Gul constantly remarked at my rifle. He had many questions about the weapon's origin and the physics of modern weapons. Both of tribesman constantly pined over my gear like a couple young children. Gul also routinely chewed the strange narcotic weed of Leng. I never saw Ful chew the stuff though. It was a good thing too, he needed all the brain cells and wits he could muster.

The first day of hunting, naturally, was a nightmare. I spent most of the day wheezing and suffering for lack of breath. Leng's lovely air delivered a terrible punishment to my ability to thrive. Matters were made worse when I watched my lug guides, Gul and Ful, bound about with no effort. I thought I may have rushed acclimatization on the world, but, if Fortunato was to be believed, my body may never fully adjust to such an alien and inhospitable place.

Lucky for me, I had help to carry all our gear. Ful was built like an old J'narr tank. His thick arms were like the sickly brown tree trunks in the jungles of Leng. The only thing missing were the huge barbs and thorns that covered nearly all of Leng's damned vegetation. Gul knew of all the toxic plants, which was nearly everything on Leng. He had good knowledge of the beast and fauna and I tried to learn everything he had to say. Gul would whisper sometimes about huge gargantuans that dwelt in the crushing pressures of the Leng below the plateau highlands, but his sense of scale must have been mistranslated. Aside from tales of the giant horrors, he spoke in few specifics about what lay below the great plateau in the smoke covered deep valleys of Leng. He claimed the monsters were a preposterous size,. I considered his words beyond possibility.

As it was, Ful said very little. I never heard him say more than a grunt or oafish moan in our brief time together. I never even could figure out which brother was the eldest.

Gul continued to speak with me, although I would hesitate to say he was agreeable. While Ful toiled with my equipment like a human pack mule, Gul would dart about scouting for dangers and food. He would often look about as he cursed and swore in some unintelligible tribal tongue. He had a horrible temper and a strange manner. Even when he was mad, Gul would give a crazy smile. It was disturbing. Gul would disappear at long lengths and leave me to grunt with Ful. Just when I thought he had disappeared and left me for dead, he would show back up with some sort of alien berries or mango-like fruits. They always tasted horrible to me, though they seemed to give the other two men plenty of culinary delight.

That first day, we did not even sniff a Kali Tiger. If we had, I don't think I would have respected the beast much. We made a huge racket marching through the woods. While Gul was agile, Ful clodhopped around with clanking pots and pans. He scarred half the jungle away and attracted the other, more dubious, half.

Our goal was to march to a medium sized village named Kepchek. It had been the last place the Kali had victimized, and the place I could logically find a fresh trail. Like most of the attacks, the site skirted the old ruins I was told not to enter.

Our pace was extremely slow given my maladjustment to the environment. We must have sounded like a gaggle of traveling gypsies with our clanking pots and pans and Ful's grunts of agony as he stubbed his toe on some sort of plant thorn. Although I fancied myself somewhat adept at stealth and stalking, Leng's climate made this extremely difficult. I could not help but gag or dry heave often during the trip. The bugs were vicious as well. I found myself covered with welts and swollen wounds by day's end.

For most of this leg, we followed the great black River. Gul told me its name, but it was difficult to translate and sounded of gibberish. Most of Leng's settlements were on this dark river's shores, though at a safer distance than most river villages on other planets. Most of these homes were cut off from the larger settlement of Kepchek. There were no great roads in this part of the Plateau and what little trails there were got rained out and quagmired this time of the year. The river was not exactly safe either, which was why most of the towns were set back and not perched directly on the banks.

On Gul's passionate recommendation, we gave the water a wide berth in this wild country. Gul spoke to me of dangerous amphibians and lurking creek devils that would attack men near the shores. When I did catch views of the water, I saw it looked black and ominous. Huge obsidian rocks lined it's side with spots of black sand beaches. The river was wide and calm, surely it was a very old river that had dug a deep rut through Leng's plateau. Despite the calm, the ebon waterway looked sinister and foreboding. I did not argue with Ful's direction to steer away from the place.

As I put my head down and walked through the woods, I could not help but wonder what the great waterfall must have looked like as this river hit the fabled "edge" of the plateau of Leng. If the mesa was as high as Fortunato had said, the cascade must have been an incredible marvel.

The first true excitement came to us at the end of the first day.

As the foul dinner Gul and Ful foraged simmered on a small fire , I tried to rest in between labored movement. Suddenly, a crash of thicket sounded in the nearby group of trees. As we all sprung to action, we readied a defensive response with weapons in hand. I was shocked to see the man burst through the wild. The bloody and exhausted tribesman crawled through the bush and raved like a madman. I raised my revolver at the deranged man as he lumbered through the thorns. He frothed and spit from the mouth. I wondered if he had contracted some of the foul disease that plagued Leng or I thought perhaps he was an addict of the planets hallucinogenic drugs. Gul jumped to his feet and brought out a razor sharp filet knife to the ready. Ful simply snorted his nose and looked up from his stupor.

"The tiger, do you seek the tiger?" The shirtless hunter said as he crumpled over in exhaustion. Briers and thorns were embedded in his blotchy skin.

I grabbed him by the arms and looked into his eyes. "Yes! What have you seen?" I asked.

But the man could now hardly speak. His eyes looked blank as he slumped in my arms. The whites of his eyes swirled with the dark patches of oil like all this planet's residents. _What was that malady?_ I wondered if it was an effect of the narcotic weed nearly everyone used. I realized the man was exhausted and could not utter another word without some rest. I motioned to Gul and we set him down. Ful came over and aided us attend to the man's wounds. I quickly scoured the perimeter of our makeshift camp to ensure the survivor had not been followed by man or beast.

I brought out the radio to request some medical response from the capitol but my device could not function. The magnetosphere of Leng wreaked havoc with my modern equipment, I would have difficulty with my communication equipment.

Gul looked at me and laughed.

"You no use that stuff out here in da wilds, mon." He said with a huge smile. "It wont be workin' none"

"Well how the hell do we get in touch with Fortunato?" I asked.

Gul looked over at his brother, who spooned a bowl of the slop they had prepared into a bowl. Ful looked back and smiled. The food dripped down his chin.

"Send me brah I figa" Gul said.

I scowled with concern.

"Get my white pack, the one with the red cross on the side." I told him. Gul bounded over to my gear and brought me the package.

I opened the sack and revealed a nice array of some high quality medical and trauma supplies. Medical aid was one place where I did not hold back. In that area, I never compromised technology for sport.

Gul looked at the spread of medical equipment in my aid pack. The sick man lay on his back and shook with cold.

"Get that blanket on him." I said pointing to my pack. Gul ran over and got the wool lined blanket. He spread it on the shivering man.

I prepared the nannite hypodermic needle I had to treat the man for shock. Even for a man of Leng, he looked pasty and sickly. The foam had subsided from his mouth, but he still lay with open eyes in a state of distress. I looked at his veins on his gnarled and muscled arm for a spot to inject the solution. I readied the injection into his arm.

"Don't be given none o' dat juice to a man o Leng. Da _Traveler_ won't have it. " Gul said as he put his hand on my arm. Gul gave me a grim look, like he meant what he said from deep in his soul. "Besides, that make 'em sicker." he added.

"Give 'em the wader only." Gul said.

I relented my efforts and placed the medical supplies back in my back. I motioned Ful to give the man a drink of Leng's putrid water from a leather bladder he carried.

When I looked back at Gul, I saw the guide had disappeared again into the wood. He took his filet knife with him.


	9. Chapter 9

The wounded man struggled to breath. He convulsed with pain and panic. Eventually, his coughs stopped long enough for him to speak.

"Da beast attack our village, four miles south of this camp." He paused as he coughed violently. "I don know why da travela' let me liv" the man said, as Gul applied a concoction of herbs, weeds and dirt to the man's wounds.

"Is anybody else there?" I asked.

"No one der since da attack dis mornin'. All took off now, I tink." He said as he wiped saliva and Ful's paste from his chin. His eyes were still glazed with some sort of frenzy, like man who had died and come back again. The dark blotches swirled in his eyes. "It kill four o' da warriors. Rip 'em up good I saw."

"Anyone else? Woman or children?" I asked.

The man looked at me. "No, mon, only jah warriors that I saw, sah"

"Dis be the boldest attack yet. He neva hit no town before." Gul said as he ground up the paste.

I put on my boots and brought out my pack.

"Let's go." I said, looking at Gul.

At once, I rallied the two guides and I decided to set forth for the ransacked village. I checked my ammunition and gear and packed light. I let Ful stay with the wounded man as Gul and I gathered the gear we would need. Ful kept most of the equipment with him as we packed light.

The surprise incident charged me with an energy I had not felt in days. Apparently, Leng had not sucked all the life from me.

We made a blistered pace through the thicket. As we blazed a trail through the mud and weeds, even Gul struggled to keep up with me. The wounded survivor had already swarthed a nice trail for us through the bush. The path kept the thorns from our clothes and skin.

The village was only a few miles through the wilderness. Birds and soaring reptiles passed over our heads as we blazed a trail through the sharp grass. The grass and plant stalks sliced into my pants as we ran.

After a few minutes, and with a layer of sweat on our skin, I began to make out the sights and smells of some sort of settlement.

On the far treetops, the trail of black smoke billowed into the dusky sky of Leng. Soon, I could make out the tops of huts and yurts through the canopy.

As we neared the smoking mess of huts and thatched rooftops, Gul held back and grabbed me by the arm. He look scared.

He practically dragged me down as we both took a knee near a thorny tree.

"You mon, jus you go.. I ain't no hunter of no tiga. I stay here." Gul said.

I looked at Gul with disappointment. He did not seem to care.

"Very well." I replied. "Wait here then"

Quickly, I stripped down even more gear and left it with him. I walked forward to the area with my rifle in hand. I quickly checked the bolt and made sure I had a round charged and ready to fire. Behind me , Gul spit into the ground in shame. He had a strange look in his blotchy eyes.

I could smell the burning village as I approached.

The village was calm as I walked up with my rifle at the ready. It was a silent scene. Everyone in the small village appeared to have left. The gusts of wind blew tumbling weeds and leaves through the dirt streets and alleys. Fires were cold and smoldered with neglect in between the huts. Trash heaps were everywhere.

A small stack of bodies dressed in the same eerie gauze were stacked by a small hut. The shift in wind brought the smell of death. Flies circled the corpses as I walked past.

There was a dead warrior in front of a moss covered stone well. A hundred year old laser rifle lay shattered on the ground next to him. His throat was ripped out and strung out next to him. A string of entrails and tendons followed the wound. The man's face was white with a frozen look of terror in his eyes. The blood was pooled to his blood seemed unusually dark for a fresh kill.

This shady village looked even more time lost than the capitol. Everything here was simple and tribal. There was no activity in the place, only rot and the foreboding aura of silence.

Despite the usual warmer climate of the planet, I found the breeze that morning bitter and lifeless. The slight wind made matters worse. My toes curled as I walked with wet feet through the unpaved street of worn mud. The smell was foul and acrid, like rotten animals on a warm road. I could not help but shiver as I walked through the huts.

Another dead man was spilled out near a hut. A hatchet was still clinched in his hand. His innards were strung out to his toes. Flies circled about his great wound.

These were quick and surgical kills. The beast was after something.

As I walked and my heart pounded, I still felt out of sorts from Leng's atmosphere. My insides felt ablaze. My stomach had never settled since arriving on Leng. The food Gul had prepared had not helped matters either.

I looked into the dark yurts and round huts. It was a small village, only about ten small thatched structures in the town and one larger structure in the center of the area. The buildings seemed to be shingled with dried leaves and bark from some of the jungles thicker vegetation. It was an impressive contrast from the star ports of Jupiter's moons and the technological wonders of space, but I was no stranger to the more backwards haunts of the galaxy. The town looked even poorer and more destitute than the capitol of Shar-Natha.

As I passed a large cooking pot, I could see the liquid inside still simmered. I saw a set of children's toys left in place. A bowl of freshly served food was nearby as a spoon hung from the edge. The people here had abandoned the whole town in a hurry.

The only building of any size was a large yurt in the central portion of the village. No grass or plants grew around the structure and a heavy footpath was beaten in the dirt around it. It must have been the great house of the local village elder, one where town meetings and religious ceremonies probably took place.

I stared into the black of the large Yurt. I could smell the odors of incense and spices from outside. They smelled alien and odd. The entrance was black and smoky. _What did I see swirling in the dark?_

A rush of electrical energy charged the air.

Just then, the swirling darkness lashed out.

The roar stunned me in my tracks.

The huge flash of terror blinded me as it knocked me to the ground. Whatever it was moved so fast, my eyes could not even process the shape. It was large and massive, perhaps the size of a giant bull. The sides of the door smashed into slivers of lacquered wood. Splinters flew as I was knocked back. I barely made out the glow of blue eyes as they blazed forward.

The tiger!

As I buckled backward, I could not focus on the shape. My head was dizzied with the weak air and the impact of the blow. I fell hard into the muddy soil as I gasped for breath. The thunder strike hit me hard in the chest as it trampled over my body, knocking the wind from my lungs. But just as quick as it came, the shadow was over me and out to the jungle.

A roar like thunder echoed in the air. Everything felt charged with energy.

Birds and vermin fled the nearby limit of the thicket.

In the distant wild, I heard a woman's scream. It sounded miles away.

My rifle dropped as I struggled to catch my breath. Instantly, I pulled up my "Old Faithful" pistol to finish off the beast as it gloated, but there was nothing there.

I scanned around the village frantically with my firearm. My chest ripped with pain. Wind scattered leaves and dust, but nothing else. I gathered my rifle and aimed in. Nothing. The massive blur had vanished.

I put my finger to my nose and wiped the small trace of blood from my lip. I massaged the sore mark on my chest where I had been hit. A lightly bleeding scratch ran down my cheek. _Why did the tiger not kill me when it had the chance?_ I wondered.

I walked into the yurt with my rifle slung and "Old Faithful" at the ready, a pistol was far more advantageous in the narrow quarters.

Like most of its kind, the yurt was one large room. Dirty silken drapes hung as partitions. The place was dimly lit by the flicker of candle light. Wooden panels and central beams supported the sagging structure. The place looked like it had seen better days. On the walls, odd tapestries and woven shades hung in tatters. Stained silken pillows were strewn about on the floor. The place was elegant for Leng, but dirty and past its prime. Even more disturbing, the weird the shapes and images on the textiles unsettled my nerves.

In the center of the room was a splintered wooden alter. Fresh spears of hardwood broke off from the structure. This was recent damage. Next to the vandalized scene, smashed glass decanters and vesicles of burned incense were askew and spread across the floor. Near these items, a sinister mortar and pestle apparatus lay smashed.

Then, I saw something I would not soon forget.

In between the splinters of wood, a modern glass ampoule of black liquid lay shattered on the ground. The container and matter inside smoked with heat. I could hear a crackle as it simmered in the air of Leng. Curious and stupid, I leaned down to smell the foul substance, but the odor burned my nose and made my stomach heave. As close as I could tell, the substance had the odor of super concentrated ammonia, just like the narcotic weed the locals chewed. It was toxic to be sure. I quickly revolted from that decision and backed away. It must have been some different drug used in ceremony? Perhaps it was another type of narcotic or hallucinogen made from the weed? I did not know. The ampoule looked almost modern, like the type of container a scientific lab would transport samples inside._ Did the Kali Tiger destroy this horrid alter for some reason? What interest would a tiger have in the ritual narcotics of these natives? . _These were strange questions I had uncovered. I was partially glad Gul was not with me.

The malicious aura in the place was overpowering. I could feel it in the air. The yurt felt wrong, as if the very air was tainted by something evil.

The dark silken tapestries that hung in this house had weird and disturbing geometric patterns. Hallucinogenic and atavistic images of beast and man. The colors were black and the lines were in dark reds that seemed to glow with power. Instantly, I thought of the words of the Kalish woman on board _The Night Gaunt_ days ago. She mentioned the dark religion of this place and something she called _The Taint._ _Was this more than just a figure of speech?_ I left with my pistol still aimed in on the steaming black fluid on the broken alter. I watched as it sizzled and bubbled into the ground.

This had been some sort of local religious ceremony that the tiger felt the need to interrupt. I wondered, _perhaps, this was not a simple creature I stalked?_

Nevertheless, the jungle called and I refocused my attention on the hunt.

Looking outside, I gathered myself to track whatever had run me over. I scoured for sign of the animal in the muddy earth near the scene of my battery. I knew, there was no chance I could miss the prints there.

Eventually, I found the sign. The beast had been cunning and full of stealth, but the Kali had made a mistake.

In the muck, was the giant print of a cat's paw. The print was bigger than any I had seen before. _This prey is massive_, I thought to myself.

I looked for another piece of the tiger's sign in the mud. Yards away, I discovered another paw print. Beyond that, at the edge of the jungle, was a mark and a broken branch.

It was time to track this beast. _The hunt was on!_

Energy coursed through my body.

Inside, I felt a fire burn.


	10. Chapter 10

I brought my rifle up to scan the dark copse. The stale breeze pushed the thick barbed groves around and small flies swirled around the muddy soil. The huge thorns clicked as they rubbed together in the same wind. The last tiger track had certainly led here, but there was nothing anymore. Only the bugs and the thorns were left to click in the breeze. I had been off the sign for nearly an hour.

In the muck, I had found only sporadic tracks from the cat. A normal predator would have left far more sign. But the Kali Tiger was much more careful. The stealth with which this beast moved was truly impressive. For long stretches I thought I had lost the thing. Most branches and plants had hardly been touched. The thing moved like a ghost through this jungle, and that was no easy task. A steady wind would leave more of a mark on the land. With such difficult sign to track, I made horrible time in my pursuit.

With such setbacks, it was certain I was not even close to catching up with the creature.

But there was something else in the mud. Human feet with a sturdy boot. It was a quality utility boot. Perhaps a combat model. Such footwear was unusual here on Leng, most of the tribesmen wore leather booties, sandals or bare feet. The tracks were small, like a woman's foot. Most of the Lengites were larger stock, and this was no place for a lone child. The human tracks seemed to be under the tiger's sign, as if the beast was chasing the girl. Then I remembered the recent scream. I wondered if this was the person who cried out in fear. Was there a third set of tracks as well? It was hard to tell. A human at full sprint left poor tracks, but it seemed like there were more heel digs and toe marks.

As I waded cautiously through the jungle with all my alerts in place, I wondered about the red haired Kalish woman with skin of yellow orange. Her emerald green eyes glimmered in my thoughts, like a fire nymph of classical times. I thought of the dark sun tattoo on her stomach. It had some sort of meaning. For a moment, I wondered if this was her sign I tracked.

As I moved through the thick mangroves and leaves, Gul darted back and forth between the groves. He had only his large fillet knife, but his mean look told me he knew how to use the blade. He seemed to get more and more uneasy as we continued on.

I wondered how Ful and the wounded tribesman fared back at our camp. At worst, hungry Ful had eaten the poor sap as an "after breakfast snack".

As time passed, I felt the air thin and blasts of cold breezed through the trees.

Through the huge stalks of the giant tree plants, I could see the pink hue of the horizon of Leng. It seemed the forest broke open somewhere ahead.

The birds were incredible in this part of the jungle. They screeched and darted about like flies in huge swarms. Giant black parrots and raven like macaws swooped down in lavish displays. Small red shrikes paced over head for small vermin. Smaller colorful birds danced and chirped in safer spots on the trees. I saw one that looked like a great dark furry owl, perched high on one of the thorny branches like an avian monarch. For a second, I swore the regal bird winked at me.

I passed by a dark bubbling stream of black water that spilled out into a glass topped dark pool. The water looked deep and sinister, much like the waters of Leng's only river. As I walked closer to peer in the waters, Gul came to my side and grabbed me.

"Dont go near 'dat water, mon" He said. He made a cutting motion with his neck. "bad tings in der."

We steered around the pool as small bugs danced near its surface. I did not see any of the birds fly over the pond.

"We gettin too far from da' camp, mon." Gul said. He crouched down, with a nervous look in his eyes. He was constantly scanning the sky. "We near dat edge o' Leng, it a bad place for us bot"

I looked off in the distance with the scope of my rifle. I saw no reason to turn back.

"When we see it , I'll judge it for myself. I'm leading this hunt." I replied. Gul gave me a perplexed look. I was not afraid of a sheer drop or killer birds. If the tiger was making the edge of Leng his base, then we would need to strike him there.

There was nothing to argue about.

"Ok mon, just know dat I told ye." Gul replied.

Gul's face returned to its deadpan normalcy. Perhaps, he was not as scared of heights as he was of something else. He flicked out his blade and bounded down from his perch.

As I went onward down the trail, he followed close behind me without complaint.

As I cleared a final section of thick scrub, the Jungle tailed into vines and roots and mixed with sections of rocky ground. The canopy and giant trees abrubtly ended, and the magnificent burst of air and clouds was before me.

Soon enough, I stood on the dark edge of the great plateau of Leng.

Vines and roots spread across the black basalt expanse. It was a humbling view below. The dusky eternal sunset of Leng was blood red on the horizon. The air was thinner , yet cleaner. The faint odor of burning tires and rot was less pronounced here. There was a tinge odor of what smelled like methane and nitrogen.

Past the plateau, I saw nothing but a brown green haze as far as the eye could fathom.

The haze curdled into the rich red of the far horizon like some strange type of mixed drink. At this massive height, the plateau of Leng was a giant city in the clouds that stared off into some sort of endless expanse of amaretto sour.

But things shifted in the haze.

Far below, the dark green clouds blocked any of my views of the surface. It was a long way down.

As the horizon stretched out, the clouds shifted to black. Below me, huge jagged walls of the plateau stretched down into the smoke. Branches and vines clutched the face like veins on the muscles and sinew of a massive rocky giant. The size of the cliff was impossible. Even an experienced stellar vagabond such as me had never seen such a magnanimous scope.

It would have been something of wonder, but for the foul noises and groans from the depths. I kept squinting to see strange black dots whipping through the clouds. The whole scene mixed with the awesome height was unsettling. _What were those noises from below?_

I felt a strange shaking of the ground below me. I searched the tops of the haze for some sight of a gargantuan like the kind mentioned in Gul's tales, but I saw nothing. Gul looked into the haze with me and smiled.

My stomach turned in knots when I pondered what beasts might patrol those murky depths.

On the cliffs around me, I saw more massive flocks of birds patrolling the edge, and downward to cliff side aeries and swarming rookeries. The jagged rock formations formed craggy nooks and spikes, sheltering many nests and dark caves. Several of the flat portions looked like nests and rookeries for Leng's birds.

As I scanned the edges from a knee, I noticed some of the cliffs on these sides were not as sheer as one would have believed. Narrow game trails seemed to traverse the side like a child's marble play toy. I was not sure, but I thought I could glimpse caves down below.

I wondered what animals could have braved such paths. They were similar trails to those I had seen goats or cats use in other lands. But I had not seen such beasts here on Leng. Large and small bonzai type trees dotted the edges, some looked to have nests of large predator birds. I saw one soar near one of the jutting cliffs, it was a patchy black and white raptor. Although it looked quite formidable, it was hardly the scope and size of a predator bird that Papa had warned me lurked in these regions.

There are moments in one's life , when they realize looking back that everything changed. As I see it now, right then, on those cliffs, I had this experience. The course of my future was forever altered.

As I knelt on the side of the plateau of Leng, and scanned the brilliant scene , the moment came to me. My nose sniffed a whiff of black pepper in the wind.

Then, I saw the dark mistress of the cliffs. As I probed the expanse and marveled at the scene, on a rocky edge something stalked in the shadows. The specter caught my eye as I looked closer.

It was the beast I had come all this way to hunt and slay, the great Kali tiger.

The dark fur shimmered in the murky red light. It was a massive beast, much bigger than one of earth's great cats. Even for me, who had seen many horrors and wonders in this galaxy, my heart skipped a beat with awe.

Its fur was flat and greasy, save for a row of spiked plumage on its long black.

To me it looked black or blue, though the light was dark then and the colors of the sky gave it a false hue.

I wished to have a better look at the thing on my first sight of it. This first glimpse was only a blur, but it was close enough for a shot.

I raised my rifle to aim in on the beast. I lowered myself to the prone position and motioned to Gul to do the same. As I lay on the rock and vine, Leng's violent ants began to bite me without remorse. I bit my lip and held in the pain of the ravenous attacks. I made no effort to slap the nuisance bugs as they bit me. With great concentration, I held my aim on the black mass. _This would be a difficult shot_, I said to myself. As I took a deep breath, I centered the blur in my sights. The scope was fouled with a clump of mud and I hesitated for only a moment. As the beast preened on a jutting abutment, I wondered if my shot would send him down to the depths of Leng, with no hope of recovery of the body.

While I cleaned the scope's reticle with my free finger, I realized the beast's location was an issue. Even though I did seek the beast for the sport and thrill of the hunt, I had a practical need for its dead hide. The carcass would serve as both proof of death to my benefactors and as a trophy for my hall. Both were items of importance, at least in my foolish head at the time.

As this thought came to my head, I managed to expunge it just the same. I knew if the beast lived a second longer, any person on Leng was at risk, to include myself. I needed to shoot the thing dead even though I risked no pelt for my trophy case. For Papa and Fortunato, the word of Gul of my kill would have to suffice.

I steadied my view and began to slowly squeeze the trigger on my rifle.

But a tornado of feather and beak broke the shot.

_Damn, Gul had been right,_ I thought to myself.

From above, a massive blow of force hit me with the power of a freight train. The feathers puffed in the air. Something let off a massive squawk as the wings slammed in to my side. The blur and violence of the attack took me off guard, the force of the blow sent me flying off the side of the cliff.

I saw the giant bird flutter its wings and launch itself back in the air. The monster was an apex avian predator, a massive predatory bird with a wingspan twice my length.

The dirt and stone flew in the air and my rifle went flying from my hand. For a second, I thought I saw a few massive feathers float in the air. Gul screamed like a hurt animal as he ran back to the jungle. His arms waved in the air as he ran.

I flew through the air and down the smooth face of basalt. I managed to right myself and somewhat control the slide, but I moved too fast. Desperately , I reached out for the tight vines that grasped the edge.

As I scraped my hands raw on the vines and rock, I managed to grab a thick clump of spindles and set in. With one arm, I dangled down on the side of the cliff.

Gul reemerged from the thicket and drooled on me from above. He pointed and shouted into the clouds. His words were a blur as I strained to get my bearing and stabilize myself. I dug into a deep crack in the rock. Then , I realized what the buffoon was shouting.

"Da Bird!" He yelled and pointed into the haze. "It come back again!"

I reared my head and gazed in horror. The thing was a massive brown Roc of the outer realm, a huge cross between eagle and vulture. The thing was a prehistoric monster. The bird screamed a bloody cry as it swooped for me. The wings flapped as it gained speed and sailed to me as I dangled on the cliff.

But I stood unafraid. Any fear the beast instilled with its cry left me quickly, and I was able to focus my efforts to survive. This giant was no match for the hunter Colonel _Fredrick Montressor_. My ego was far too large for that. With no hesitation, I moved my free hand. I reached into my pants and brought up my "Old Faithful" revolver.

The bird closed the gap as it soared through the air.

I leveled my aim and fired the shot as the bird swept in for its kill. The round hit the bird square in its grotesque beak with a direct shot. It was a mutilated looking face, like a turkey. Hot plasma and feathers blew apart in a flaming ball of charred avian bones. I could hear it screech and cry in high pitched blasts that hurt my ears.

Bird guts and steaming entrails splashed against my body and the rocky wall of Leng. It was a gruesome slop. As I slapped the gruel off my eyes, the body of the thing dropped like a stone to the brown clouds below.

The wind smelled of roast turkey as the flaming ball of roast bird hurtled down into the depths.

Quickly, I looked up at the peak where I had seen the Tiger. There was nothing there. The beast was gone.

I struggled to keep my grip as I looked around from my new vantage point.

With the sprinkles of bird carnage on my body, I dangled on a thin vine above an unfathomable expanse.

It was there where I saw something even more fantastic.


	11. Chapter 11

As I dangled on a tenuous vine , sprawled on a sheer cliff of Leng's ultimate edge, I saw something truly amazing.

In the wind below, through a sea of crag and scrub bonsai trees, I noticed the sight that made me weaken my grip and gasp in surprise. What I saw carved into the edge of those cliffs took me completely off guard. In my hands, my grip faltered and I nearly slid into oblivion.

There were incredible ruins adjacent to me on the cliffs.

I could see the magnificent buildings on the side of the sheer rock. It was strange I had missed them before. The wonderful arched ruins seemed to be placed in huge imaginary slots in the face of the ebony basalt. But this was an illusion. The ruins were actually directly carved from the rock face in a stunning architectural display, massive stone reliefs of unprecedented scope.

I had never seen such unfathomable work.

Even with my untrained tourist eye, I knew the style of the build was out of place on Leng. For a moment, I thought I stood on the shores of old Lake Argus looking at Ganymede's Greek inspired mountain retreats. I could almost smell the sweet fragrance of cooking meat and oaken bourbon. These buildings before me bore clean lines of a pseudo classical architecture boxed in huge square shaped temples. _Or were they tombs?_

Regal and majestic edgework and trim highlighted the border of the wonders. The great columns were carved to be faux bricks of giant size. In between, in the place of the imaginary mortar, were stone lines with etched alien symbols and writings, hieroglyphics I had never seen before. Adjoining the bricks were weathered reliefs of a smaller size. I could not tell from my precarious vantage point what strange scenes they depicted. The faux columns and pillars were gigantic and thick, three body lengths across. T

he carvings had flare similar to the ancient Greek Doric style. I was reminded of the old Lycian tombs of classical Turkey on Earth, though I'm sure the similarity was pure coincidence. Strange icons and symbols were carved along the edges of the tomb. It was no language I could recognize. It was certainly not classical Greek.

One of the largest temples had an monolithic high relief of a pair of armored warriors shaped into the rock. Both naked figures bore horse hair helms, huge gilded shields and menacing battle spears, their pole arms were held out and adjoined on the business end. These were clearly human men. In a stunning coincidence, they could have easily passed for Thracian or Spartan patriots of the classical era. The out reached spears of the figures joined and formed a massive arch in the tomb. It looked like a natural entrance to an inner chamber with a pathway within. Beyond, a dark cave was barely visible. _Did I see a light flicker?_ It was an amazing feat with the strong winds of these cliffs how the level of detail on the reliefs had survived and not worn clean. Of all the carved temples on the cliff, this warrior tomb looked like the largest and most important.

The tombs seemed to defy belief. _What men could have worked the sheer cliffs to mold such massive structures?, I wondered_. The physics of such an endeavor seemed beyond the current population of dusky eyed marauders with blotchy eyes and a foul temper. Perhaps an ancient race of men had mastered this plateau in Leng's ancient days . I did not know of any great old races here. I knew little about the strange world. Before a few days ago, I had never even heard of Leng. But this was not the same morbid and organic carved ruin as I saw in Leng's dark capitol. I could tell these buildings were made by less diabolical hands.

The curiosity in me was tempted to investigate the ruins and discover what alien secrets they held within. But the tiger was my chief worry. I could not relax and digress into an explorer's roll with that fiend on the loose. That beast was my true obsession. I needed to find that monster and slay it more than any other urge. The cat was still close, I could feel it.

I knew however , when I lost sight of the monster, it was certainly possible the thing could have fled to the sanctuary of those carved tombs. Thus, I managed to convince myself my desire to explore the buildings had a practical motivation.

But while I swung back and forth a more pressing matter presented itself; the vine I straddled felt as if it would snap at any moment. And if this happened, I would surely fall to my doom.

Quickly, I assessed my situation.

A nearby cliff with a large sized Bonsai tree was off to my side and below me. The branches and rock looked to have a nice foothold on the cliff. The small pad looked like it was serviced by the narrow game trail that zig zagged through the cliff and ruins. It would be a difficult jump , but it was not impossible. Still, I preferred to take the path of least resistance. That meant I need Gul's unpredictable help.

I shouted upward for my companion Gul.

Eventually, to my surprise the drooling fool came forward.

"Gul, are you alright up there? Give me a hand!" I shouted.

"I'm fine, mon, Where is da' bird, Mon?" He asked "U kill dat ting?"

"Dead." I replied with urgency in my voice."Sent down to the depths with a face full of plasma shot!"

I couldn't see how he reacted to this news. I had a bad angle on him.

I grew impatient as my grip strained.

"Now pull me up, man! You didn't tell me anything about these ruins! The Tiger is on these cliffs somewhere!" I shouted with ire.

Instead of a reply, I heard only silence. I listened close and yelled a few more times, but there was no answer. _The damn fool had run off!, _I yelled to myself_. _Worse_,_ in my hands, the vine began to crack and twist apart.

Before I could resolve my plan, with a sudden pop, the vine gave way and sent me flying. The spasm of fear was insane. A brief moment of madness when the worst outcome presents itself. Adrenaline surged to my body as I shot off the vine like a looping cannonball. _Surely, I was doomed._

It was only by sheer luck that my hunt did not end right there.

In a gracious act of mercy by Lady Luck, my momentum was focused in just the right way as to send me toward the adjacent cliff and bonsai tree.

I flapped out like the bird I had just shot as I tumbled through the air. Before I fell, I tried to push off the rock as best as I could. My heart flashed with relief when I felt the ancient Bonsai branches in my grip as I clutched them like my life depended on it. (because it did) The tiny barbs on the tree's bark dug deep into my hands as I grimaced in pain. Blood dripped down my arms and stained my shirt as I hung. But with the adrenaline surges of such a near death encounter, I hardly noticed. I hoisted up to my leg to the rocky pad above with some effort.

A few grunts later and I was laying on the thin outcropping with a sense of thanks and a pounding heart.

With Leng's alien air always working at my vigor, I felt more taxed than usual from the acrobatics. I had pushed several miles through the hostile jungle this day and fatigue had finally caught up with me. To make matters worse, I was hungry. No doubt, Ful was munching all my UCF rations as I sat here. As I lay on the gravel of the edge, I felt as if I was going to pass out. I would learn, it would be something of a pattern here on Leng. Still it didn't help to see the help bail on me. _That damn Gul had nearly gotten me killed, _I thought_. _I swore his name to the side of the cliff and hocked a juicy wad of spit in his honor into the oblivion below.

In the swath of the choking air, I felt my head spin. My vision blinked off and on. With each breath, it felt like a huge weight pushed on my chest. I stumbled to move on the narrow cliff as I eased down into the rocky gravel. My face felt heavy as I rested my head on the rock. The world grew fuzzy and distorted.

I could hear the soft sound of drums as I felt the darkness creep in.

The last thing I noticed was the red sky beyond the veil of dirty clouds swirl around a dim blood red star.


	12. Chapter 12

In my dreams I saw foul visions of giant shapeless things. I floated like a cloud high above them, but I did not feel safe. The formless shapes snapped and howled in the thick green haze. Whipping tentacled arms shot through the air like giant coach whips. I felt the ground shake as they stepped and moved to strike me. The arms were covered with razor like barbs and nauseating black suction cups. I heard the sinister clicking of some foul alien tongue, untranslatable and impossibly evil. My mind drifted toward the limits of sanity and my thoughts grew mathematical and hallucinogenic. I struggled to breath and choked on the poison air. I had known fear as a "man of war" I had learned to master it and understand it's limits, crept into my skin like a terrible burrowing parasite.

Drums pounded in the air. The ground shook with gaining force.

As I drifted further above, I felt dark light on the black waters of the River of Leng. Giant saw toothed amphibians and glowing mollusk things slashed about in writhing pleasure. The horrific glow of the sky gave the foul monsters some sort of strength.

I saw eldritch ruins bathed in the dark light. Strange geometric patterns and obscene carvings dotted the crumbling walls. Monstrous idols of unspeakable demonic shapes. Opulent arches and steep jagged stairways littered a huge valley. The architecture here was distorted and alien. My stomach turned at the mere sight of the structure.

In the ruins a massive arena sprawled out. This was no place of idle sport or theater. In the center, amidst a sea of bursting crowds, was a stepped pyramid culminated by an ichor stained alter. A nightmare ritual was underway. A dark eyed man of Leng sat and overlooked the crowd. It was Papa. He sat atop a huge spire with a conflagration of violent people below him, the mob was in a frenzy of ritualistic fervor. Fortunato stood in guard at his side. Papa was in a stupor of mesmerized meditation. The Chief's eyes were now jet black, as black as the water of the river of Leng. Above him Fortunato held the dark ampoules of black goo and waved them into the air. The crowd festered with excitement as they gave a roaring cheer.

The drums continued to pound in my head, now they were faster. Below, the ground shook again with greater force.

As I looked to the sky huge clouds of green dust and red swirled gas mixed together in massive storms and tornados. The hazy sun merged with this mess and formed a deadly mix of congealed color. Through it all, I saw the black glow of a shaping lunar eclipse. This dark energy was a fantastic sight that dominated the horizon. It felt so close and the air sizzled with a strange power. The dark moon moved to blot out Leng's sun. The weak light vanished. With the movement complete, the moon turned dark and black like a switch. The air felt heavier at once. I could feel strange emotions overtake me.

In front of the sun, there was now a _dark star_. The old sun's only vestiges were the glowing rays of its corona effect. The light rays danced around the black sun like squirming worms left to die on the ground. The corona was the only glimmer of light in the sea of clouded chaos. The dark eclipse bathed the plateau in the ultimate shadowed glow. The air felt charged with sinister power of something unimaginable. I felt hatred, fear, and anger. I could feel the rage and power of the crowd.

Fortunato smiled like a demon. He grimaced in painful pleasure and broke the dark ampoules of liquid over his head. The glass cut into his hand as the vials cracked. The goo rushed free down his hands and arms. The substance was alive! The oil-like sheet rushed from it's confines down Fortunato's arms and moved over his face. The strange matter disappeared through pores in his eyes and mouth. Fortunato stood there unfazed. He did not wince or cry in pain. He did not fight the invasion. He kept up his perverse smile as his glaring eyes turned jet black , just as Papa's were. He began to moan a strange incantation and sat beside the leader atop the temple. The crowd below erupted like a hot caldera with adoration and applause.

Drums now pounded. The shaking was everywhere.

As I stood, slack jawed, I heard a whispered voice speak those unforgettable words:

_That is not dead which can eternal lie,  
>And with strange aeons even death may die.<em>.

As I looked up, the _dark star_ lingered over all. I felt the emotion and power from the mass. Far below, the giant gargantuan nightmares of the depths screamed in adoration of the star's ebon glow. The horrid noise was an orchestra of gurgling and piping, a menacing tribute to the morbid eclipse. The drums were madness now. The power of the beat was like thunder. From below, from within the very rock of the plateau…something rumbled and stirred. Something in the deep ground groaned to escape. I felt the very plateau shake and tear. _The Old Traveler he said, the Dark Star!_

I stood once again before this scene on the side of the great plateau. The ground shook and the cliffs collapsed around me. Basalt crumbled like sand.

I looked quickly for a foot hold as I began to slide off the side of the rock, but when I turned and looked for escape….the Tiger was right in my face!

The beast's giant head and scarlet red eyes stared into my soul.. his huge saber tooth fangs were drooling with saliva and blood. Its breath smelled of death and decay. This was a true nightmare of this cosmos. He hissed at me with the fury and glee of a triumphant predator and leaped for my head!

But my body was unharmed.. and Leng's foul breeze ripped me from the horrid sleep.

I awoke dripping with cold sweat. The wind of Leng's outer rim rushed into my ears with torrent of warm methane laden air. I jumped so much I nearly shook my self from the narrow ledge where I lay exhausted. Rocks tumbled to oblivion as I regained my space. Below was the fog and haze of the abyss. My fatigue and the poison of Leng's choking air had caught up with me. I had passed into an uncontrolled sleep.

My elaborate vision was only a dream.

Around me, the swarming birds of the cliff screeched in amusement. The air was as it always was , a green mire of haze and mist with the twilight red sky off in the distance. I could see no moon or eclipse. Leng's sun was a fuzzy goliath of dwindled light far off and unmoving. The sky had a steady wind but was without a storm. Most importantly, The Kali Tiger was nowhere to be seen.

I sat up and dusted myself off. I checked my essential gear out of trained habit. My pistol was still packed inside my pants, but my rifle was gone. As I gathered myself, I felt my head ring with aching pain. I felt drugged. There was no refreshing sleep on this foul planet. The vision of the _dark star_ above my head, amorphous monolithic horrors below, and the relentless Kali Tiger in my face did not help matters.

Even though I did not want to think about my dream, as much as the tiger had disturbed me, I could not help but feel the rumble in the land was the greater danger. The cataclysm felt so real and vivid. _Did that earthquake have something to do with the dark eclipse?_ _What were those strange alien ruins? _Those sinister visions were far different than the cliff side tombs I now gazed upon.

I recalled Gul and his absence. I shouted for him above a couple more times. Nothing answered. I looked up the narrow path and saw the awesome cliff side ruin before me. I knew the Tiger lurked somewhere near. My guard returned and I brought out my revolver. I flipped open the cylinder and carefully loaded another shot of plasma. The temple was my only way up.

With gathered strength, and my trusted pistol at the ready, I shuffled up the trail toward the strange ruins.


	13. Chapter 13

I stepped under the giant central carved arch that looked like it was older than time itself. The shapes of the two naked soldiers with their spears outreached, towered over my head. The raised spears formed the main arch as I passed below. As I looked up at the warriors, I felt like an insignificant rodent scurrying underneath the feet of long lost giants.

Under these hulking monoliths, the wind died and the silence of the cave peeped back at me. I probed the shadows in search of the Kali Tiger, but I could not see or hear anything.

The immediate interior of the temple was polished rock. As old as the chamber must have been, it looked like a stone shaper had _only just_ completed a fresh sheen of the walls. In between rock and wall, picture box reliefs of magnificent images reflected back at me.

As I kept on, the cave narrowed in to a sort of galleria. The weak natural light barely allowed me to see the complex images to my sides. As the light flickered, and the cave narrowed even more, I could tell these boxed reliefs were images of great battles.

The reliefs would have dwarfed any of the old earth carvings of ancient Rome or Greece. They were vastly more complex than the long forgotten tombs and temples of classical Omerta. They even surpassed the modern copies of the classic works seen on Ganymede or Europa. The quality was unmatched.

In one massive example, I saw the image of a great war scene between men and strangely shaped monsters. On one side, the dark figures looked like blobs of strange plant matter complete with flailing tendrils and arms. I could not tell if the monsters were plant nor animal, I had never seen a living thing that looked like them. On the "bodies" of these odd creatures, mouths and eyes were misplaced, fangs snarled from spots that looked unnatural and malformed. It was clear the things gave off an evil and sinister aura.

Behind all of these strange creatures, a massive hulking figure loomed of congealed tentacles and fangs. The towering leviathan's body seemed to swirl as I looked at it, even as it was set in stone basalt. An unblinking eye and razor sharp beak was set in its middle. The beast stood, tall as a mountain, behind the fray of men and monster. Even with its alien features, I sensed it laughed at the scene below. I sensed from its posture this creature fancied itself some sort of puppeteer. With its drooling jaws it seemed to pull the strings of those foul things below. I felt unsettled by the image, and I did not star long at this monster.

Against a sea of the primordial plant creatures, I saw an army of men and woman stand in defiance. Arrows flew over their heads as they charged the vile things. A mob of men with raised sword and pointed pikes rushed with open mouths toward the evil things. On the shields and standards of these soldiers, was a bold mark of the black eclipse with the exaggerated rays of a brilliant _corona_. Instantly, I recalled the Kalish woman from my flight in to Leng. _This was the same image I saw tattooed on the woman's stomach!_

I advanced further down the rocky tunnel, I could make out another fantastic relief. A huge tower was set in the sky. Giant scaffolds and cranes lifted enormous rocks and boulders upward to waiting machines and workers. Hundreds of men and woman piled upon the structure in an orgy of undreamed engineering. In the foreground, a king or great leader sat back upon a throne and observed the construction. He was flanked by men and woman who bore the same standard; A black eclipse surrounded by a brilliant corona of light. The standard was displayed with the prominence of victory as the massive structure was raised

As I looked on this last image, I could swear I felt a flicker of artificial light from deeper within the temple. I took a knee and listened. The dark path in front of me was black, and offered little for my eyes, but I could see a small light spoil the darkness as I waited.

I unsheathed my pistol from its holster within my pants. The slight glow from the plasma bullets and iron sights on the pistol gave a small amount of illumination in the dark. I stepped forward down into the further reaches of this temple. I could no longer see the walls or ground below me, but I moved forward to the light.

Eventually I came to the end. The cave had narrowed into a space barely able to fit a man. Instead of bare rock or a gruesome sepulcher, I came to something more akin to a soft curtain. I ran my fingers gently over the knit material. Across the width of the passage was a hanging drape! This curtain moved softly in the gentle massage of the slight breeze in the cave. Every so often, a gap would form which let a small sliver of light from behind pierce the darkness.

As I stood across the door, I brought my pistol up for potential use. Without hesitation, I brushed aside the curtain and pinned the material to the side of the wall. I stepped forward into the lighted chamber with my pistol leveled and probed for potential trouble.

But, to my surprise, behind the curtain was a surprisingly warm scene.

It was a small chamber, lit by several burning candles along the bare rock walls. In some ways, it was quite the cozy alcove. It smelled of cloves and a residue of cooked meat.

A wooden table was stretched across the center of the room. It had a matching wooden chair parked next to it. On the table was an outstretched map and several markers. off to my left and set against a rocky wall, a row of shelves with modern camping and survival equipment. Medical packs, flasks of what appeared to be potable water and boxes of rations were stacked in a corner. A minimalist cot was set up near this wall, a small blanket was curled up in a bunch on the cot. It looked like a standard UCF issue blanket and cot set. I knew them well. They were always brutal on my back.

Nearby, a small cooker was set on a simple night stand. Beside it, a few small pots and pans were laid out. Next to this stand, a metal wire had several weird vegetables and roots drying on it. Next to the cooker, a small knife was stuck in the top of a basic cutting board.

Near a turned over ammunition crate was a glowing LED light and a folded over book. The novel looked as if someone had just read a chapter and had taken a break.

I moved closer to the book and picked it up. It was a dusty paperback that looked decades old. The cover and spine read "Venus Traveler". It looked like an ordinary travel guide one would find in any Venusian gift shop. It was the type of thing someone would only read when they had nothing better to look at. I flipped over the back and read the brilliant quotes of recommendation from some of the most famous travel aficionados in all of Earth and the Jovian moon's pop culture. It was clearly written before the J'narr War. Most of the people who gave quotes were dead.

Beside the crate, was a small book shelf that held other volumes of books set in a neat stack. Rothchild's _History of the J'narr War_, A wildlife book called _Animalia of the Omertan Highlands_, and a rustic grimoire penned by a Ludwig Prinn titled _Mysteries of the Worm_. The last work was held within a plastic sleeve for protection from the elements. Another still older book sat next to this volume. The yellow stained tomb was also sealed in a plastic sheath. It's worn leather cover was crudely scratched in some alien language. I guessed the writing was ancient _Icthian or Lakonian,. _races of men who once sailed the stars while the people of Earth sat around naked and drew on cave walls. This ancient tome looked as if it would crumble to dust if I merely looked at it hard enough.

In more ways than one, _a dry assortment_, I thought.

I looked down at the map on the wooden table. It was clearly Leng. Several points on the map had "X's" around them. I could see the larger towns and cities marked off. Some of the settlements had crosses over them or were swiped out with a quick line. One of the towns had a question mark near it. I noted the large ruin in the center of Leng, these were the same ruins I was warned about by Papa and Fortunato when I arrived here on this planet. On the map, this spot was marked prominently. Arrows in a red marker pointed to the structure and a large circle was drawn around the complex. Many of the "X's" formed a concentric ring around these ruins.

On the far side of the room, opposite from the cot and shelves, was another draped curtain.

With my guard still raised, I pushed aside this other curtain. At once, I was nearly blinded by flash of white light. A sterile flood of florescent laboratory grade illumination spilled into the room. The neon white mixed with the soft candle light from the bedroom and formed odd angular shadows throughout both chambers. As I squinted my eyes and concentrated to focus on my sight, I could make out a narrow entry that lead into a brightly lit chamber. It was a lab! _What would a laboratory be doing here?_

Immediately, I caught a strong waft of ammonia and medical preservatives.

To see such a sterile and modern room in this ancient place was something that made me question if I was still asleep. I pinched myself and wondered if I still dreamed as I lay unconscious on the side of Leng's edge. But I felt the pain, and I knew this was no vision.

I cautiously stepped through to this second chamber. The noxious smell the heavy ammonia and formaldehyde permeated and grew stronger. A small stack of machinery and computers hummed in the silence with power. Lights blinked on the computer's terminal and displays. A metal table was set up in the center. It looked like the type of sterile piece that would be used in a morgue or for dissections. The table was flanked by wall of strange liquids and specimens. A tiny refrigerator with a clear glass front contained packaged specimens and vials. On the floor, there were a pile of cast off bandages stained with dark red blood. _What gruesome purpose was this chamber_? _What the heck was something like this doing in an ancient temple thousands of years old?_

I walked to the jars of liquid stacked on the metal shelves. It must have been awkward to bring all the heavy equipment and gear down those narrow trails in the cliffs, I thought to myself.

I felt my bones chilled as I recognized one item. On the shelves of specimens, was a small box of the dark black ampoules I had found in various places on Leng. These sinister things looked just as terrifying as the others I had seen. They were also a chief component of the nightmarish visions I had experienced.

Unlike the rest I had seen, this box was clearly marked with a human "Bio-hazard" symbol. The same that would be placed on medical waste from a hospital on Europa or Ganymede. I dared not touch the box or its contents, but I could see the black oil like substance swirl and slither inside the glass tubes.

I looked closely at the pile of bandages on the floor. I had seen these wraps before. They looked like the wraps I had seen on the bodies of the stacked plague victims on my way into Leng's capitol.

As I looked into the rows of bottled specimens, I saw one particular jar filled with a clear liquid. The container had a swirling black _curdle_ suspended in inside. The thing was as small as a toad. It looked like nothing more than a morphing clot of jelly. The thing was dark, like living black tar as it squirted about the jar. I felt the malaise in my body that had plagued me since I arrived on Leng reemerge when I looked at the thing.

I tapped my finger on the jar and watched it change shape and eddy into gruesome swirls. The sickness hit me like a hammer and I turned away. I felt angry and mad as I looked to the ground. _What the hell was this place? How was this possible?_

It was then when I saw her again. The red devil woman of my dreams and nightmares.

The alien woman of mystery from the planet Kal.

This time, she did not have the dark cloak around her body or bother to conceal her figure. Once again, though she greeted me with the warmth of a blaster pointed my way. Actually, she held _two _blasters in both hands right in my curious face.

She was a tall woman and built like a soldier, but with a sleek beauty that I found distracting. Her face was proud and looked both mean and sultry. She wore a black form fitting flight suit with pockets and equipment everywhere.

A thick stain of mud soaked her lower legs and knee high boots. I could not see her famed stomach tattoo in this particular outfit. But it made sense to expose little in the way of flesh on the surface of Leng. Her fire red hair blazed around her shoulders as she scowled at me. From her yellow orange complexion and wild locks, I knew it was my Kalish woman.

"Fancy meeting you here." She said as her scowl broke to a wry smile. "Put your weapon on the table.. slowly." She said as she motioned to the dissection table.

I looked her in the eyes. They were still those green flaming eyes that could invade a dream. Without qualm, I set "Old Faithful" on the table in an exaggerated motion. I had no counter maneuver planned. I did not know why, but I knew this woman was no threat to me.

"What have you touched?" She asked firmly. "Let me see your eyes."

I gave her a bug eyed look as she stared at my face. I was not sure what she wanted.

"Well, lady, it's not exactly a fancy kind of place," I said. "Interesting collection you got here… And you can't beat the view."

"What in the hell do you think you are doing?" She asked.

"I told you on the ship." I said. "Hunting a Tiger."

"I see no Tigers here." She replied. "Who followed you here?" She asked.

"Why should I tell you?" I responded.

Her smile disappeared once again into a scowl.

"Look, I'm not sure you quite_ get_ what you've walked into here. This place is very bad. Bad things have happened here and more bad things are going to go down. Leng is a _cursed_ place. Haven't you realized that yet?" She tucked one of her blasters into a holster on her hip.

"Well, honestly I was starting to pick up on the hospitality of the natives and the infectious plague and all, not to mention that there is some sort of narcotics trafficking of these black ampoules here?" I looked at her." I'm not as slow as you would think?"

When I think now, how confident and arrogant I was, it does not surprise me that I would soon wind up beaten and left for dead a short time after this. Such is hindsight!

"Ha!" she laughed as she grabbed my revolver on the table. "A plague? Drugs? There are no such things here." She looked down at the pistol and spun the action. The woman looked through the sites on the pistol and pointed it at me. "Those people were murdered by their own."

"Why would they do that?" I asked.

The red haired woman looked at me long and hard. I felt her eyes penetrate my soul, still judging my worth. "Come" She said. "Sit down in the other room. I will tell you more." She said as she lowered her weapons.

I followed behind her as we walked back into the previous chamber.


	14. Chapter 14

I shuffled around like a sick dog on the stiff cot. Just as I remembered, the thing was a torture rack in disguise. Every way I tried to lay down felt like a knife sticking in my back. Like I said earlier, those damn UCF jobs always did a number on my spine, and this bastard cot was no different. Below me, the cooking pot simmered with yellow bubbles of broth. As hungry as I was, the smell of real food was orgasmic, but I kept my composure.

The red haired woman had filled a glass cup with water and handed it to me. I sipped the fresh liquid with eager lips. I didn't care much if she had panned to poison me. The water was cool and tasted as clean as a wild brook on Ganymede. For a moment, things were looking up.

"So I didn't catch your name, did I? Or why you are living in this impossible mountain crypt?" I asked.

"I'm part of an old order. I'm trying to figure out what's going on here on this planet." She said.

If this lady thought I was going to buy the notion she was part of some charitable group , she had another thing coming. I knew the mark of a clandestine operative when I saw one. I made a life out of that trade for a long time. She was working a standard mission. Implant in the and observe. Learn all of her enemies strengths , routines and weakness before she developed a plan to strike. Eventually, I'd guess her game was either sabotage, raids or to recruit natives to her cause. Win the "Hearts and Minds" was what we had called it. It was classic asymmetric warfare. The question was, who did she work for?

This girl not telling me her name was also getting increasingly annoying.

"Well, its a "cluster" is what it is. Leng is a trainwreck of blotchy eyed goons with no souls. You can cut the crap though, I know your some sort of military scout..what do you think I'd believe that you're from the science academy on Oberon or some ilk?" I came clean with her.

"Hmm..what have I said that would indicate I was part of a peaceful pan galactic church group?" She replied.

"Those blasters of yours, I've never seen any like those. Those are from beyond the rim I'd gather...not easy to get. I'd say a hundred thousand credits for each on the open market." I said.

"They are quite nice. They're Golivian if it means anything to you." She said with a smile.

I had heard of the _Golivians_, an empire of Alien races that had operated in this area hundreds of years ago, but everyone knew were driven out beyond the rim some years ago. I steered the subject back to our discussion.

"And the Lab. Why so secret? Why on the side of cliff that drops to hell itself?" I asked again.

"Clearly, I _am_ running a secret operation." She said. "Your right on there , inspector."

I frowned. I was not up for a verbal judo match, but since she had the guns in the house I was at a bit of a loss.

"What about those carvings outside? The battle. What are those vile vegetable looking creatures?

She looked at me and scowled some more.

"I thought you were here to hunt your Tiger?" She asked. These are a lot of curious questions."

"Well , I am here to kill that Tiger, and I will." I said "But I'd like to know as much as I can about the land."

"Elder things" She replied.

"Excuse me? Elder what?" I asked again.

"Alien creatures of a hostile nature" She said.

"Well did these aliens have a name?"

"If they did, it was lost to time." She replied. "We think they lived hundreds of thousands of years ago, maybe even millions. Earth humans were not even around then."

"Hmm, from beyond the rim as well?" I asked

She looked at me with sullen eyes.

"Perhaps." She answered. "It was so long ago." She added. "They were wicked and evil. In their time, they tried to summon something horrible from the gulfs beyond."

"The huge black mass behind them? In the carving?" I asked.

"Yes." She replied as she took a sip from her water. "..and just like those aliens, the population here is, I guess you could call them _slaves_ of something very old. Its the same thing in those carvings." She said.

"It would really help if I even knew your name." I said as i took a sip from my water.

The woman turned off the boiler on the small burner and poured me a cup of the hot broth. She pulled out a small packet of white powder and dumped the contents into the cup of broth."Drink this, it will help you deal with Leng."

I took the cup and slurped a quick sip. It was fabulous. i felt energy from the food almost immediately." Thank You" i replied.

"Leng has been poisoned. It is poison. That drink will only help. If you stay on Leng much longer, you will die. No viral protections or nano concoctions will help." She told me.

"How can that be?" I asked.

"I told you about _The Taint_ already, you seemed to have heard the term." She said, in turn I gave a slight nod. "_The Taint_ means different things now. Unnatural sickness, unexplained madness or psycotic behavior."

"But the meaning of the word always came from one source. It came from a beings from beyond. They have great power and great evil in their goals. Anything in their service bears the sign of the _Taint_." She said.

"What kind of things are these?" i asked as i chugged another gulp of the broth.

"_Old gods_ who once roamed our reality." She stopped and let that sink in with a dramatic pause."Things that hate our life and always seek to break through and destroy. Specifically, one of these gods in particular constantly plagues us." She said. "Many of his ilk are sleeping dreamers who only influence our realm indirectly. But _He_ takes action of a more _proactive_ nature."

"Jesus lady, your going to have to try a bit harder." I said holding back a laugh. _Old Gods? Was she for real? _"I'm a former UCF Colonel after all. Its a bit of a respectful gig."

"This is no joke Montressor, I am aware of your service and former job. Your had an admirable record in the military. But evil never dies."

For a second , I thought of my dreams. I thought back to the words I heard whispered into my ear: _That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even death may die._

"What god is this?" I asked. "I took a few courses in religion back in college. I saw some weird stuff during the war. Try me." I asked.

"It goes by many, many names. We have always called him the _Dark Star_. The people here on Leng call him the "O_ld Traveler_" or some such benevolent nonsense. I've heard hundreds of others." She answered. "He _is_ an old god from beyond the veil of space and time. He dwells in the dark and lifeless gaps between dimensions and seeks desperately for a way back into our is the foulest and most aggressive of all his damned race." she added.

"My order exists to stop him." She took a sip from her drink "Or those who serve him."

"Is that what you are planning here? Is that what you feel is on Leng?"

"For now, as I said, I am gaining knowledge." She answered. "We know there is something very evil here. A general of sorts in his service." She said."They seem to have some plan."

"How do you know this?" I asked

"You saw the second relief near the curtain? The scene of construction?" She asked.

"Yes, I did see that image." I replied.

"A long time ago, the plateau of Leng was built by an old species of human beings. They were the _Saal Drutha_. _Those who sleep through time_. My order descends from them, but it was such a long time ago. This plateau, all of the habitat portion of this world was _manufactured. _It was made as a prison for some thing very evil." She paused and looked around the chamber. "They also buried many of their dead here, it was giant ziggurat the likes of which the Galaxy has never seen."

"A ziggurat? like on ancient earth?" I asked.

"Yes, like your ancient humans built, and others built all over the Galaxy, but never anything this advanced." She said.

_"The Saal Drutha_ subdued a very powerful entity on Leng..it was something we call a _Vroggan_, _A Precursor _of the Dark Star_." _She added. "Aeons ago, He sent forth these monsters long ago to serve as a _harbingers_ for his return." She said. "Most wait in dread slumber or hibernation and wait for wicked races to wake them. "

"Why wouldn't they just kill the thing?" I asked.

" They lacked the means to destroy it. They are extremely resilient and powerful. Their only option was to imprison the creature within this plateau. My order used incantations and wards that are mostly forgotten to us now." She said.

"Magic? Do you mean magic?" I asked trying hard not to laugh.

"Or long lost technologies beyond our knowledge." She said. "Magic is only a word after all. What would a cave man of earth think of your revolver?"

"Lady, I really should be going..that Tiger was outside nearby and it is killing folks around here." I said "These people need me"

"There is one such being here on Leng." she added.

"Papa" I said without doubt.

"Perhaps." She replied. "It is difficult to say. The Precursor would likely be someone in a position of power."

"The presence of the Precursor means the _Taint_ takes on a more powerful form. When a precursor is near, The Taint becomes like a _parasite_. It solidifies from an obscure notion or malady to a very real organism that can take over a body. "

"So it becomes some sort of body snatcher?" I asked. "Is that what you mean? And why would this be connected with the dead plague victims?"

"Humans from Earth and from Kal have always given the parasite trouble. They are not totally compatible." She said. "The plague victims must have resisted the phage. Maybe they still had too much Earth blood in them."

"Where did these people come from then, Papa and his men?" I asked.

"We don't fully know. A couple of hundred of years ago, Papa and his people showed up and lived here. Many who serve the _Dark Star_ do so willing. They are evil men who have been duped by his promise of power and influence. It is tough to tell. but they found this forgotten place somehow, and awoke the evil inside." She replied.

"What is it that you need from me? I came here to hunt a Tiger after all. " I stated.

"To help me infiltrate their ruins and discover what they have planned. To stop them." She said.

"Well, lady I don't really know..this sounds important and all, but I've seen these religious gripes and battles on planets. I've learned to stay away from local matters while a guest on someone else's land." I said.

"I believe the people of Leng are protecting something near these central ruins. I'd guess they are constructing some sort of portal to another realm"

I tried to keep the facade of disinterest, but I was, in fact, concerned with what this woman discussed. I thought again of my recent lucid dream on the edge of the cliff. I thought of the ruins and the infernal ritual. Above, in the sky was the sinister eclipse as it hung in the air. But the Tiger awaited. And I was here for a hunt.

"It's a great story, but I told you, I am here to hunt a Tiger, I'm not here to become bogged down in these petty squabbles." I said as I took one last big gulp of my broth. "Thank you for the food and rest."

The woman handed me my revolver and the shells were in her hand. I took the pistol and reloaded. I stuffed it down in my pant leg holster. My back felt better at once off the cruel UCF cot.

"Just know that everything here is too far gone. I told you Leng will kill you if you stay. This is the Taint. It effects land just as it shapes people. Over time, the evil contained leaked out to the plateau and tainted this whole world. Huge creatures and poison air corrupts the lower depths. The jungle on the plateau has been fouled. Its no petty squabble"

One more question lingered in my head. The eclipse. Why did it enter my dreams? Why was it tattooed on this woman's flesh?

"Tell me about your mark. The eclipse"

"The mark on my skin is not the eclipse. That is his symbol. The Dark Star."

"We do you use the mark to represent our order, that is true, but it is the corona attached that is our real emblem. The undying light of the _Saal Drutha_." She said as she pulled up her shirt and showed me the image. It was just as I recalled.

"It holds significance for two reasons. For one, an eclipse is a false avatar. It appears to be many things, a harbinger, an omen, a portent..._even a dark star_...but in reality it is none of these things. It is false. It is a small moon that covers the giant suns and stars by tricks and sleight of eye. nothing more than an optical always serves to remind us the power of the Dark Star is a _false power_." She noted. "The second thing is the corona. Even when the sun is blocked and the light is at it's lowest point, the rays of the sun's corona linger and remind us that the true light can never be concealed. Like the corona, the forces of my order will never fade."

"A very noble religion you have there. Sounds like you are two groups who don't get along well. At any rate, what would this thing do if it leaked forward to our reality? It sounds a bit fantastic." I replied as I gathered my things.

"It would destroy, Fredrick Montressor." She replied. "It stands for _Entropy_. The destruction of all life."

"These people of Leng believe the Dark Star to be their creator and supreme deity. In the end, it is a religion and they are zealots. Its something I have learend to stay away from." I replied. " I don't think I want any part of this, my dear. I'll take my pistol and be on my way then. The specimens and black ooze is scary, no doubt some real parasite. ..I'll steer clear of it all."

She looked at me with crossed arms, clearly not pleased.

"..but I'm here to hunt a tiger. A tiger that kills people for fun.. I'll keep my word to these people and rid them of the thing. If nothing I am a man of my word. I saw the Tiger with my own eyes. He's real and he's terrible." I said.

"Pfah!" She blurted. "A pledge means nothing to these people" She laughed. "They who would steal your soul and make you a mindless zombie of a damn old god. The Dark Star _is rea_l Montressor, you will see." I moved to the curtain as she went on. "If that is your choice I will speak to you no longer. You may leave my camp."

I nodded and reached out my hand to shake hers in gratitude. "Well good luck to you, as well. Thanks for your help, if you need more help I'm sure you'll know how to find me."

"I have no time for old men who chase tigers from outer space" She replied as she ignored my hand shake. "..especially those who play games when the real world is rotting around them. The J'narr were nothing compared to the tide of evil we face. When you wake form your fantastic dreams and the real stench of death gets too much for you..seek me out."

I nodded as I walked out of the cave and into the dark tunnel. A short walk outside and a brief climb up the lattice work of cliffside trails, and I was once again standing near the edge of the plateau where the deadly Roc bird had shoved me off. Gul was nowhere to be seen.

As I shuffled around for a few items I had lost up on the top were still strewn about. My "trusted foot guide" had not even bothered to pick up my gear. I picked my trusted rifle out of the bushes, very glad I had not lost that to the bottomless edge of Leng. As I checked my sign and retraced my path through the jungle, I thought about the woman's words.

Inside my heart, I felt the fire of my drive to slay this monster flicker for the first time.


	15. Chapter 15

Upon my return to the camp, Gul and Ful were milling about like lost dogs.

It didn't look like they had even cleaned the camp much, though Ful had some sort of roast on a spit and looked hungry as usual. Certainly, the good friends of mine had alerted no rescue party on my behalf, nothing but the best guides from Fortunato.

The injured tribesman was gone. Gul did not looked surprised to see me. He informed me an "elder" from the village had run in to the camp and took the hurt man to the larger village to the south. Naturally, I was quite relieved.

Gul was dumbstruck when I asked him about why he left me on the side of the cliff. For a moment , it seemed as If he had even forgotten what I was talking about. After awhile, he dodged the question and pretended to have problems understanding me. I could tell by the look in his eyes he was not a skilled liar. Gul had meant to leave me there on the side of Leng, I could sense it.

More interesting, my guide at least had new information about the tiger.

Gul informed me the beast had struck another group of men to the south. While I was inside the woman's cliff side camp, the Kali had slain four roaming hunters near another small black river village.

Ful drooled about and had moved to eating his roast. He offered me a leg or some similar appendage. I took two bites before I started dry heaving.

That night, I packed my gear and serviced my rifle. I refreshed everything in my stock and went through my medical supplies to check what I still had.

In my pocket, I looked at the small white vial Fortunato had given me. "Medicine" he said it was. As I cleaned out what I needed, I tossed it into the reeds without much thought.

The Kalish woman's broth made me better that day, but I could already feel the effect wear off. Leng's toxic air was once again chipping away at my health.

As I oiled the action on my rifle and polished the hickory stock, I thought out what the next morning would bring. The hour was late, but I was not tired. Ful's roast rumbled in my stomach like an unwelcome guest. This latest crime scene seemed like a logical place to start. If the tiger had struck, it would be the quickest place to track the foot sign.

Before long, I informed Gul and Ful of my plan to move out. They nodded and went to the work of breaking down the site.

With a desire to take advantage of my current renewed health, I decided to move a few miles over land toward the new site at once.

As both men swore under their breath, we packed our bags and made the trip south. Ful rattled with loose gear the whole way. During the trip, Gul once again pulled his sporadic disappearing act. His truancy was getting rather old. Moving in the woods I was fine, I had learned to navigate in Leng's jungle much better, but it was never easy.

We made it a few tough miles before the jungle began to be a problem. When Gul finally returned , I motioned to him to make our camp. Without incident, he and Ful made the preparations and set up the camp.

Once again, the night was an ordeal.

This time, we made camp high in a giant sickly alien tree.

The massive plant appeared to be an oaken octopus of the great plateau. The tree had thick tentacle branches that reached high above the canopy of Leng. The bark was thick and chunky with good footholds for climbing. The branches spread out like rays of light into the sky of Leng. Unlike most of the jungle, the leathery bark and leaves were devoid of insects. With no crawlers, I thought there was a shot at some relaxed comfort, but it was awkward to sleep so high in a tree.

I noticed the stained white spots all over the branches and bark. The substance had a chalky finish, like a weak sap. Like most things on Leng, it smelled like ammonia. My fingers felt numb as I touched the resin. When I asked Gul about the strange substance, he told me his people would use the material as body paint and a pain reliever.

Gul pointed up to the tops of the trees. As I looked up, I noticed several dark buzzards who had nested above. As I followed the white stains, I realized the stuff was the bird droppings of those scavengers. My finger flicked the clumps off into the night and ground below.

Gul laughed as I squirmed. There was nothing better than a bed made from the shit of a buzzard. He told me the tree was special because the birds droppings formed a resin that could numb most insects. These particular birds only made this particular tree their home. Thus, the plant was devoid of most bugs and the animals that ate them. This, he explained between grunts, made it the perfect campsite for his people. The people of Leng sought this tree as a refuge in the deadly jungle. It was , in fact, something sacred.

As I made my bed on the awesome branch, I noted the higher ground near the back side of Leng and the forbidden ruins beyond. The ruin was a small mountain in the distance, with the hazy twilight glow of Leng's ruddy star well beyond. I wondered if this higher area formed the start of the great river.

In the night, strange noises of ungodly predators rang down below.

For a moment, I swore I saw glowing blue eyes stare at me in the trees beyond.

The racket below kept me up for most of the evening. As I tried to sleep, I found myself itching and scratching constantly. I was not so sure if I had the same immunity to the plants abilities that the two guides or people of Leng did. My whole body itched and burned. Relaxation on Leng was never easy.

At one point, during the night, I heard the ground rumble and shake. I wondered if this was from one of the massive low land monsters I had seen in my dreams.

I hoped that we would not bump in to one of these gargantuans.

It was strange to sleep with no change in light. Eventually, I dozed off and fell into sleep.

Like most nights, it was the usual nightmares.

In the dark I saw the child's face with no features. He said he needed my help, as he always did. My mother looked disgusted as I turned my back.

Then, I dreamed again of the ruins and dark things below. Leng was my new nightmare.

The drums sounded and the same crowd roared underneath the eclipse in the sky.


	16. Chapter 16

_The morning came to me with the violent reminder that all life on the planetary frontier was deadly and the wild places of the Universe were always the domain of double crossers and back stabbers._

This should have been no surprise on damned Leng.

The stench of the sour air was muffled when I awoke to one of Ful's massive hands around my throat. His other hand was cocked back with a massive bone handled cleaver loaded and ready to chop me in half. Naturally, I found the situation quit distressing. I was pinned under his weight like a struggling ant. The skinnier fool, Gul stood in back of him and fumbled with something behind us both. As I struggled to catch a glimpse of what he was up to, all I could see was him dance around the branch like a devilish imp while his mutated brother set about to murder me.

But I was not an easy kill.

Ful shifted around as he tried to contain me. He seemed to be quite straight faced as he focused on his deed. I squirmed back and forth, mostly out of instinct , to get a better position on the branch. The brute's grip was impressive. As his fingers set in, I struggled for breath and gagged. For my efforts, I could now see with horror what Gul handled; it was one of the dark black ampoules of black tar that I had seen all over Leng. He seemed to fiddle with seals and tabs on the object, perhaps preparing it for use on me. The ampoules were one of the items said to contain the pure essence of what the red haired Kalish woman called _The Taint._

I could see the container bubbling and foaming as he came forward. He wore a wild evil grin as he stepped forward. With haste, I knew I needed to act fast, lest I be possessed by some primitive body snatcher.

Despite my rather large ego, I, Colonel Fredrick Montressor, was a veteran of some of the most brutal battles of the great J'narr War. This included some most wretched frays of hand to hand combat ever known to man. Even as I kept my ego in check, I was not about to lose my life to such rabble, on such a pathetic planet as _damned Leng_, up in a silly tree covered with analgesic buzzard shit. I was better than that, for sure.

As I struggled to breath, I resigned myself to provide my clumsy guides with a quick lesson in UCF close quarters combat with a dash of Earth's long forgotten _Black Ju Jitsu_.

As the lesson began, my foot was easy to work free.

Ful was strong, but he put far too much credence in his ability to overpower me. He knew little about leverage or the power of his body weight. As I set and planted my foot behind his legs, I trapped him in the process. A simple twist of my chest sent his clunky body down to the ground where my head had been. The follow through sent his melon smacking on the leathery bark. Quickly, I brought my arm up to guide his misshapen head again into the hard wood. His nose smashed against the tough bark of the tree with a thud. Dark blood gushed out onto the tree. Ful's hand with the cleaver went into a panic and dropped the weapon as he flailed out to brace his unexpected change in position. Naturally, I was able to get my arm in the air and catch the giant cleaver in one motion. The handle was covered with sweaty grease, no doubt lard of some animal he had eaten. It was the crude weapon of a crude miscreant, but under the cicumstances it was all I had.

Without much delay, I swiped across the brute's head with the cleaver. The blade swung hard and ripped a deep cut across Ful's throat. With a snicker snack, the blood ripped out like a geyser. The blow nearly took his fat melon off of his shoulders.

Ful looked at me with confusion as he put his hand to the massive wound. Blood sprayed everywhere on the giant branch and into the distant ground below. He bent over and gurgled and gagged as the blood poured out of his neck. The horrific sounds were the most I had heard the brute say the whole trip.

Gul was now visibly charged to see his brother gibbed right in front of him. Quickly, panic set in his movements.

Gul now threw his strange container down and went like a bird for my packed rifle. The ampoule bounced off the branch and hurtled to the ground below. As he got to my pack, he struggled to undo the straps on my gear. He clawed at the fiber pack like a rabid animal, cursing and spitting. Without pause, I carefully reached over to my bedding and pillow. As I reached my hand under the soft sheets, I grabbed the concealed "Old Faithful", my trusted hickory handled, Falsworth, Model 7, Plasma Repeater pistol. It was a true prize of mine. As a warning, I waved the pistol at Gul and tried to grant him a fair chance at surrender. I had no desire to kill the poor goon. But the fool looked at me and kept going at the pack. Ful's eyes seemed to now twitch with a strange madness. He was like a crazed animal as he brought forth the rifle and worked the bolt action.

Surprisingly, he had nearly chambered a round when I was forced to plug him with two rounds of plasma right in the chest.

The jungle cracked with the sound of my firearm. Birds flew everywhere and strange crawlers howled in the distance.

Poor Gul looked down at the hole in his chest as his wound began to spark with blue fire. An instant later, his chest erupted in a different white flame. _The fire that cleanses_, we had called the effect of the deadly plasma round back in my war days. The madness in his eyes seemed to disappear for a moment and he looked in horrible pain. I felt sorry for him as he slumped over and fell the near thirty feet to the ground. .

At last, he issued a horrid scream just seconds before he hit the jungle floor with a thud. _Oh well, it was a quick death_, I thought to myself

_What in the hell had just happened?_ I wondered as I gathered myself. I noticed my gear was covered with Ful's blood and the wound was still dripping. Ful was still twitching in his death throes now. I checked him for a pulse with no success. His white eyes swirled with that same black ooze I had seen in all the natives of this planet. _What the hell was wrong with him?_ For now, he was certainly dead.

With sadness, I pushed him off the branch and watched him tumble over himself on the way down . His huge body crashed through the lower canopy of leaves with a giant snap. After a couple of seconds, I heard another loud thud as he hit the ground.

I checked myself over quickly and noted I was unscathed. The adrenaline rush of the fight had helped my environmental sickness, as my nausea felt much better.

After I gathered myself and my gear, I suddenly was startled again when I heard the jungle erupt with noise. Small animals and insects rumbled as they crashed through the brush below. The leaves and trees shook with the flood of diabolical critters and insects. A huge dog sized group of rats with beady red eyes rumbled past the trunk of the tree. Something was bringing out all the hidden wonders of Leng.

I soon realized, it was not with the noise of the beasts that dominated the racket, but the sound of a throng of shouting men!

As I climbed down the tree and arrived next to the twisted bodies of my traitorous guides, I could make out the sound of voices through the wood. It must have been a search party from the tribe! But how could they have known of this morning's events so ridiculously quick? It did not make sense to me. With some thought, I suspected the group spelled certain danger to my life, especially when they would see the grisly scene at the base of this tree. I knew the fix was in.

I paused a second to look at the familiar canister of black liquid that Gul held. It had fallen to the ground here and was cracked. The dark liquid inside slowly dripped and frothed to the ground. I recalled what the Kalish woman had warned me about in the caves. I thought of the larger specimens I saw in the makeshift laboratory. _The Taint_. A parasite that had infected this whole world. The ampoule seemed to bubble and froth like it was alive, just like i had seen before. I shuddered to think of the ooze in my own body. The thought made my stomach pain suddenly come back and I quickly looked away. _Maybe I should have listened more carefully to the woman's story._

As I listened to the clanking racket beyond the bushes, I did not have a clear plan. I resolved, at a minimum, that it was _not_ a good idea to encounter or greet the approaching boisterous "search party". Running like a maniac in the opposite direction seemed like the safest bet.

Every instinct in body told me this party meant to murder me or cause me harm. I could not imagine why. Perhaps, I had increased the frequency of the tiger attacks and the people had turned to blame me. Maybe, they were mad at the sight of a man from a different world. A simple answer; racism or xenophobia. That did not add up in my head. But maybe, the girl had simply been right after all. Perhaps, this place was_ cursed_ and full of sinister murderous fanatics in the service of an _old god_. _The Dark Star_ she had called it. I did not know why they turned on me and now meant harm, but my resolve to finish the hunt was still strong.

I looked at Gul's burned body. The corpse lay crumpled on the ground, it still smoldered with the plasma round's effect. Gul's face seemed to smile and I saw no swirls of black in his open eyes. I thought of the horrid scream he had finally yelled and wondered if somehow, in that last moment, he had regained who he was. Perhaps, I _was_ starting to believe this world was truly possessed.

Quickly, I thought of my dream. I felt the glow of the dark eclipse over my head and heard the beating drums.

But still, amidst this all, my hubris was stronger than ever. My fire inside that lusted for the hunt rushed in my blood. This was a new challenge, a unaccounted variable, nothing more.

_Hospitality of the natives be damned, I would hunt and kill this damn tiger of the old world_. I was obsessed. I was a fool.

I broke out in a sprint to the opposite direction of the oncoming voices.

On the move, I holstered my "Old Faithful" pistol and brought out my long arm from my pack. Gul had done me the honor of already chambering a round. I left behind the equipment and took only what I needed. A small pack of medical supplies and additional ammo. Food. My precious fusion grenade.

I put as much distance as possible between myself and the scene of the attempted murder. I realized in my head it was going to take a small miracle to survive this hunt.

Despite the burn of Leng's airs in my lungs, the fire of my motivation for the doomed hunt remained strong.


	17. Chapter 17

I heard the piercing chime of the search party's whistle ring in my head.

Through the thicket of thorns and tangled vines, I could hear the crash and snaps of the stalks of vegetation and the jungle around me. I sensed the pursuing figures moved at a relentless pace through the brush. I wiped the sweat and grease from my forehead and ran on.

As I ran with all my energy, I visualized an army of angry Leng-ites on line, waving "god knows what" for weapons in the air, hunting me like a damn rabbit with blood (and black oil) in their eyes. I could hear the shouts and hateful voices as I struggled to keep my balance. Metal clanked as people bashed on pots to roust wildlife. Now, I was being herded like a common varmint.

Inside my head, I laughed hysterically.

With all the "noble" motivations for this hunt, I had ended up running through the thicket like a chicken with no head, chased by those I had tried to help. The situation was ironic now. Fortunato "needed" my help. _It was all a crock of shit_. For all my good intentions for the people of Leng, quite suddenly, the master hunter was being hunted. _The ungrateful bastards_, I thought to myself.

I stormed through the foliage like a maniac, my rifle and gear jumped about without time to properly secure them. I moved wild, noisy and devoid of any stealth. As I ran through the trees, the straps got hung up or snagged on thorns and barbs. Leng's overgrowth was unforgiving to my urgency.

Thorns ripped into my sleeves and shredded even the rugged polymers of my hunting shirt. The garb was supposed to have all the most modern weaved nano fibers within the structure that was intended to provide some protection against projectile objects. But Leng was no match for the shirt. The barbs made their way to my skin as I jumped through the gauntlet of weeds that hooked and cut like steel concertina wire.

For a brief moment, I found a clearing. Ahead, taller but thick stalks of grass and the stifling canopy of massive trees broke into the open. The grass was as tall as the elephant grass of Earth, but the dim dusky sky of Leng was over my head and strange birds sailed through the clearing.

I caught my breath as I looked behind me.

The noxious air was once again stifling my vitriol. I choked on my own spit as I tried to keep it together. For all I knew, my body was fighting a thousand allergic reactions at once. The gashes in my arms and hands made holding my rifle difficult. My skin burned with an unchecked over load of burning anaphylaxis. I slowed my pace but kept moving. The noises behind me were still present, still a very real threat.

The drop cam sudden and without warning. I had been looking backwards when I missed the depression.

But it was no simple drop down, dark water was suddenly below me and I shot into the murk of a hidden creek.

I pummeled into the black surface of the creek with jarring force. As I brought up my head covered with brown water and mud, I realized I was fully into Leng's forbidden water. I sunk into the silty mud as I tried to get up. The soil was like quicksand.

The dark creek, no doubt a meaningless off shoot of the mighty river that cut a swath through the plateau was perfectly concealed as it wrapped through the clearing of grass.

Like most of Leng's water, the surface of the creek was dark and ominous, like thick coffee without the refreshing cream. I could see several small bugs gleam the surface. They were the first living things I had seen near the water. Below the bugs, tiny eel like fish squiggled about and chased both bug and smaller minnows.

The small eel's swarmed my bleeding hands and bit at me with minimal harm. Like most creatures on Leng, they were aggressive things. I swatted them off as I splashed through the water. They were unsettling fish, but otherwise harmless.

I recalled how Gul had been so quick to warn me of the water's danger. As I waded through the cool water and moved to the other side, I pondered that these hungry eels could certainly not be the danger he described. I remembered my dark vision and dream on the steep cliffs of Leng's edge. In the dream I saw the larger water creatures as they howled under the light of the black eclipse. I could remember something that looked like a giant malformed cuttlefish as it preened itself under the evil light. With this picture in my mind, I sped up my pace through the water and resolved to get to the other side.

The distance across the creek was no more than ten meters. The creek's water could not have been more than waist deep. As I trudged across, the current seemed minimal. At least, this is how it seemed. It also "seemed" safe to cross the small body of water. _That conclusion was one of many miscalculations I made on old Leng. _On this infernal planet, things were never as they seemed.

As I approached the middle of the creek, the cursed eels kept harassing me. As the depth of the creek increased, I noticed some grew larger and more menacing. A backhand swat seemed to suffice in keeping them at bay, but they were persistent and voracious things. Soon, I realized a more serious threat; the water in the creek was considerably deeper as I moved to the middle. Additionally, a current grew deceptively stronger. As the mid-point of the creek approached, I sloughed through the muck swatting carnivorous eels from my path. Soon, I found myself being pulled and pushed down stream with the force of the water.

With the screams and shouts behind me, I lost control of my feet and tumbled underneath the surface.

The creek's black water splashed into my mouth as I struggled for breath. Eels bit at me and nibbled my skin. The taste on my mouth as I fought against the rush of undertow was horrid. The power of the creek had taken me off guard. It felt like huge arms had reached out for my legs and were trying to pull me over and under.

I tumbled back and forth, trying to regain my foothold as I was whisked down into the jungle. My gear flew off as I floundered about to keep my breath. As I splashed, I realized I had traveled hundreds of meters down stream.

I caught glimpses of the shore as I was swept downward. I was back in the thick jungle. The creek was getting wider and more ominous. As I choked on the water, I nearly caught the lip of a small sand bar. I lunged for a thorny branch as it hung over my head. But it was in vain, I grabbed the air as I leapt outward and splashed back into the black water, gulping foul tasting liquid in the process.

Eventually, I got lucky. As I struggled to keep possession of my rifle, I latched on to a fallen log. The dead tree's thick brownish bark was coated with large thorns and prickers that acted like velcro into my flesh and clothes. The thorns snagged what was left of my shirt. I kicked my leg up on to the tree and threw my rifle to the shore.

Unfortunately, the tree was not strong enough to pull myself up on, but I managed to use the thing as a hand rail to shuffle across to the shore where I could navigate the shoreline.

As I worked myself up the tree, once again, I felt the silty edge of the creek's shore under my feet.

The shoreline was lower here and more like a beach. A black sand piled up on the riverbank. Tiny crabs and slugs squirmed into holes as I got my feet. A gentle landing pad was in front of me with a large patch of sickly mushrooms that grew on the shore near a cluster of trees.

In the distance, I could hear the sounds of the search party further away. I had put considerable distance in between the party by taking the current down the stream. Despite the ordeal, the error seemed to have worked in my favor.

With the cool breeze at my back, I stood in the knee deep water and muck and scanned the area. The river delta was further down the creek as it wrapped beyond groves of skulking plants and hanging vines. There, it appeared the great river of Leng met this smaller creek. The slight sound of current bubbled as I listened close for threats. Far off behind me, I heard the dim clank of metal as it tailed off.

I looked up to the shore. Past the small grove of mushrooms, the ground was flat and matted with vegetation. Leng's grass was thick and tuberous, it would cut flesh if grazed in the wrong direction. "Razor grass" was my name for it. I had many a scar on my body to lend weight to the name.

In this dark grotto, the scene was strangely calm. I had learned silence was _not_ a good thing on Leng. Yet things seemed safer here. The little flesh eating eels had even let me alone and were nowhere to be seen.

As I savored the solace and moved toward the dry land, the pain hit me like a raging J'narr _vibro spear_ in my back.

Behind me, there was a monstrous splash and the deathly chatter of bone. In my past, I had been shot with firearms of varied sorts on numerous occasions. I had been bitten and pinched by an assortment of interplanetary menaces and beasts. But this pain now, was far worse than anything I had felt before. A massive spasm of agony streaked down my spine and through my body. A massive electrical pulse ripped through every nerve in my body. I buckled over into the muck as the snot ran down my nose. The muscles in my back seemed to twitch and convulse as I struggled more for breath. My throat felt like it was being squeezed by a giant vise. Only the incredible tightness kept me from yelling out in anguish.

I reached my hand to my neck and felt the horror of a massive and slimy tentacle! The tendril oozed thick puss like as it wrapped around and squeezed my neck. The skin of my throat went numb with a form of excreted anesthetic. I felt the pull as the thing yanked me back into the deep water. My knees buckled with the force of the arm. A weaker man would have already caved.

Desperately, I reached for my pistol tucked in my pants as my feet set in the muck. The shore went fuzzy, and I faltered in the water. Another set of tentacles wrapped around my right leg as I barreled toward dry land. But, I couldn't budge the thing's power. Some sick creature had me "dead to rights" in this water.

The grip on my neck was like iron! Stars twinkled in my eyes as I raked at the slimy arm. Small spines pierced my fingers as I tried to peel it off. The tentacle had several smaller ends like the strings on a jellyfish. The giant arm ended in a bunch of these smaller tubular limbs like a ghastly flail. My nerves spasmed with pain as I began to feel oblivion sneaking in.

_Damn Leng and its freak show of monsters!_ I yelled to myself. In my glorious search for worth, I had not found the beast who was a true man killer, I had found a whole planet instead!

As I splashed about and tried to get a grip on my revolver, the giant body appeared behind me. Sick gurgles and chirps bellowed from the dark water. The sound of slurping muck and monster was hellish.

An amorphous jelly creature appeared from the black water. It was a disgusting water beast, a squid or octopus of some sort, with sickly translucent white flesh and snapping biting beaks at every junction of its body. It was nearly the size of a horse or cow. The thing screamed like a dying pig as it drew me closer to its drooling mouths. I slid in the mud closer to those jaws. My strength failed. _What a horrid way to meet my end, _I thought as I stumbled_._

Yet another tentacle wrapped around my hand just as I finally neared the revolver. With a sickly squirt and spray of ooze, another slimy appendage shot out from a stump on the monster's body. The thing latched on to my free hand at the wrist. The smaller wisps at the end sliced me and stung my hand. The tendril yanked my arm with the force of a dozen men. The power of the vile cuttlefish was incredible. As I groaned helplessly, I felt my shoulder start to rip out of the socket. The pain was unreal as I grunted to keep under control.

It was only my nano enhanced genetics that kept me alive at this point. No ordinary person could have resisted this. The enhancements were permanant and a souvenir of my days in the army. Enhanced strength and endurance were always the perfect recipe to die in enhanced new ways.

The slime beast grew frustrated at my efforts to not be eaten. At least it knew Fredrick Montressor was no easy lunch. Unknown to me at the time, was that the horror had pumped me with enough neurotoxin to slay a dozen men. As the creature peaked with frustration, the monster resolved to beat me to a pulp instead. It screeched again as it throttled me back and forth in the splashing water. I spilled like a rag doll along the bank.

As it tossed me, I hit my forehead on the side of the tree. The thorns ripped open a gash that dripped red blood. It was the same dead fall I had grabbed to pull myself ashore. What had saved me before now served as an unfortunate bludgeon.

My head again cracked into the rotten wood with a snap. The gash and blood covered my eyes and blinded me.

The neurotoxin was beginning to effect me as well. I felt the life slip from me as I nearly gave up the fight. I went to the water and saw the beast drooling with satisfaction. I couldn't even see what it used for eyes.

_This was it._

Just then, I heard the growl and hiss.

A madness and crack of thunder disturbed the quiet scene of my quiet death.

The great cat came shooting from the dark edge of the jungle. A white belly with blue and black stripes flew across the black water with azure vengeance in its eyes. The noise shook the jungle and sent birds and beast from the nearby bush and trees.

The Kali ripped into the soft flesh of the cephalopod as it landed with all her claws in the meat of the water beast.

_And now the tiger as well? Was this truly a nightmare? I wondered. __Death via the rock and a hard place._

As I struggled, the creek devil's tentacles suddenly went slack around my body. With release, I flopped limp into the knee deep water and mud. There was no strength for a mad dash to the shore. My body was nearly completely paralized and numb with some sinister poison. I was helpless as I slumped over.

The tiger moved like a blur of fur and dark stripes across the water. I could only see the battle with the corners of my eye. As before, I could not get a good look at the cat, especially in my battered state. I saw the glimpse of a sickly tendril as it snapped apart. A vile blue green blood sprayed everywhere in the murky black water.

Another roar and flash and I heard both a hiss of the cat and the squeal of the sinister cephalopod. There was more clicking and gnashing as I sunk my eyes under the water. I saw little. My vision was now failing. My diaphragm felt effected as well, and my already distressed breaths became even more labored. The creek devil's poison was slowing my body down and getting the better of the nannites in my blood. I felt drunk as I heard the sounds of water splashing and claws snapping. Flesh ripped as I sunk into the muck.

With one last try, I wrested my hand around the handle of my pistol.

I looked long enough to see the snapped tendrils of the giant water beast flail about as it retreated back under the depths. A dark shadow moved behind it. It was huge.

I couldn't quite grab the weapon as I fumbled with the handle. As I struggled, my hands locked up. _Ah well_, I thought. A_t least, I had not been eaten while I was alive. Food for the great cat suited me better than to sit in the belly of the Creek devil._

My breath slowed. I thought of Ganymede and old friends.

Then all was black as I slipped my head underneath that dark water.

I had little time to think or contemplate much else.


	18. Chapter 18

I awoke in the grip of the same nightmare!

The rattle of the war drums began to slowly gain volume in my ears. My foggy mind struggled to process a return to consciousness. Aged stone was under my skin. All around, I heard the blood curdling cries of strange tongues. The beat of drums picked up speed with the rumble of feet and the clap of hands.

My head was pounding with pain. The loud music and screams didn't help much either.

As I slowly opened my crusted and swollen eyes, I knew I was in deep trouble. I was sprawled out like a surgery patient. An ancient ruined arena with huge stone pillars surrounded me. This was the same ancient ruin I had visited before in my vision. But this time I could smell the stench from the crowd below. This time, it seemed horribly real. This time the vision was different.

I could smell the burned tires and a nearby putrid rot.

_This was real!_

My body ached and swelled with a lingering anaphylactic reaction. I remembered the struggle at the water's edge. I thought of the vile creek monster and it's shooting tendrils. I had been poisoned. There was a deadly neurotoxin in my blood. The memory of the leaping tiger came to me. The clear image stuck in my head of the flash of fur and sharp talons as the great cat ripped apart the dank beast. _Did the tiger save my life?_

But it was too hard to think in my present state.

Below, me, vine covered stone rectangles surrounded the auditorium and towered behind rows of open seating. It was a crumbling amphitheater, surely older than time itself. Near the cobbled steps, throngs of angry half naked people shouted and danced. The dark twilight sky of Leng hung with ominous clouds above all of our heads.

Thankfully, no supernatural eclipse hung in the sky.

Reality and dream blurred in my mind.

I could still feel the cramps of the water beast's poison in my body. I needed rest. My joints ached and my head felt heavy.

But the drums thumped a strong steady rhythm as I looked around. My mind came into focus on the now. I realized I was not alone on top of this stage.

Next to me, on top a giant basalt platform, armed men of Leng with bare painted chests and loincloths pounded on the huge deer skin drums. Most of them had shaved heads and strange sharpened teeth. The berserkers bodies had the mark of numerous self mutilations and piercings. A naked woman covered only in the white chalky paint waved a huge feathered spear to the crowd. Her hanging bone necklace shook as she danced between the drummers. She teased them with tubers from the horrid narcotic weed as she passed by.

Strange geometric images and gruesome shapes were etched in the rocks of the stage. Idols and anthropomorphic beasts jutted out from the corners. The sculptures were from a more atavistic design than the other carvings I had seen on the cliffs of Leng. This was a primordial place. As white painted shamans with grotesque masks danced about with axes and blades, I suddenly realized how much danger I was truly in. Whatever this ceremony was for, there was no doubt it was for something evil and black.

But I was trapped.

My hands were tied with thick leather straps to the base of the solid granite slab. One was still swollen and red from the water beast's poison. It itched beyond words. I could see disgusting stains on the rock under me. Near my feet, a massive Leng-ite held my legs. He had a grotesque bronze masque on his face that looked like an image of one of the "elder things" that had been in the old reliefs near the caves. The pounded bronze mask looked like my worst nightmare.

I lay there before the crowd helpless and sore. My bonds were set well. We sat on the top of a small stepped pyramid, just like the image in my dream. I could feel the flat rock scratch my back as I squirmed. I looked up to the sky , but there was no eclipse…only the dim brown dwarf sun of Leng on the horizon as it gave off its pathetic light.

I felt the chill on my body. I was completely naked.

_Not my finest hour,_ I thought to myself.

As I observed the ritual scene, I guessed I was meant to be some sort of human sacrifice now. _Damn, my infernal luck._ I was likely set to be a bloody tribute to _this Dark Star or Traveler nonsense. It was all how the Kailsh woman said it would be_. I wondered how men could explore the stars in ships and move faster than the speed of light, yet still be a party to such a primitive religion where one would need to satisfy their faith with an orgy of blood.

It baffled my mind, but as I lay there naked and bound, it also was very real.

Two other men with his same masks stood nearby with long spears in their hands. The men stared out to the sea of people below and neither moved nor blinked. They had thick arms and were built much like my old associate Ful.

The roar of the crowd was deafening. I felt other figures appear behind me. The crowd voiced their pleasure. It was Fortunato and Papa.

Below the throng of Leng's angry citizens continued to frenzy. As they frolicked about, men and woman chanted and screamed in an ritual of anger and emotion. Some of the people danced back and forth in a mesmerized trance, almost passive or docile. Still others, waved their arms and called forth hymns in a language I did not recognize. The main group jumped and shook with violence. It was not a peaceful scene.

The man who had started this whole thing stood by my side.

Fortunato peered over me with a sense of mastery. His leader, Papa sat indian style and open armed on a raised mound of rock behind both of us. The rock was etched with more of the strange alien characters. Small cairns blazed on either side of him and gave off a foul scent. The etched rock seat was clearly some sort of ungodly throne. Papa was the king of this show. His eyes, gleamed jet black with no splotches of white. Papa seemed enthralled with the crowd. He looked forward and paid no attention to me as I struggled with my restraints. Papa wore a gold trimmed robe that covered very little of his body. His skin was marked with ink in strange writing from his head to his toe. There was an incredible aura of power that glowed from him as he towered above us.

Still he wore the massive evil headdress.

I looked at my benefactor, the pirate Fortunato.

"Why Fortunato?" I asked. "Why have you bound me to this slab? Am I to be sacrificed? What have I done to you?" I demanded. My throat was so dry and hoarse. I could barely speak.

Fortunato looked down at me with an evil smile. His eyes swirled with the signature blend of white and black.

He gave out a bellowing laugh. It did not reassure me much.

"No mon.. you are to be _his_. You have been selected by 'da Traveler." he said. "It a great gift you get"

"What do you mean '_gift_'?" I asked.

Fortunato ignored me and motioned to the crowd. He pointed at someone close by and winked , like he knew them personally. He seemed to be fed by their movements and rhythms. The drums pounded as they moved.

As Fortunato was occupied, I continued to work the leather restraints with my hands. My limbs were so swollen and inflamed. I doubted I could get them free. The left side was bound tight and unmovable, but the right side had some play. I carefully tried to contort my hand and work my arm free. It was pointless.

Fortunato swept back and returned his attention to me.

"Da Tiger, she is da plague, ya can still kill er if ya wants later.. but you can kill him bettah when ya get the gift. Da traveler work in strange ways.. it wasn't the tiger that called ya here…it was da Traveler."

"But why?" I asked.

"We need ya to be in charge of us all so we can fight. Da Traveler has called ya to be his general, mon. He want you above the others." Fortunato said.

"What? Are you kidding me?" I said. "What about Papa?"

"Nope, Papa our boss, but he in charge. We need a warrior to go out and lead us... but 'ta do it you need da' gift. And that is why you 'ere now." He replied.

"Why the hell would your damn god need me?" I demanded.

Fortanto scowled. He must not have like how I was speaking about his "Traveler".

"Da truth is hard to say. He had this planned a long time now. Before you even came. Before 'da tiger. Before time." Fortunato said as he lowered his mouth to mine. "He call for ya."

"What? How did he even know who I was?" I asked.

"He knew ya from the war, mon." He whispered. "The J'narr told 'em. Your enemies."

Fortunato whispered even lower now.

"He saw your face in the J'narr souls he _swallowed_." Fortunato said. " They feared ya, mon, 'an Da Traveler heard this song. It was strong one." he added. He girated for the people below and waved his hand. "To them, ya were _destruction_, mon!"

Fortunato lowered his mouth again to my ear. "Dis' da stuff he like in folks. Dis what he wants from his leadah!" Fortunato slapped my chest with his hand like they were drums. "Montressor! Da man dey call da _Razor of Kull-ghu_!"

Upon hearing his words, I tried to hide my anger and rage. The fires of my inner being blazed with hatred. _No one has called me that in a long time_.

As, my anger seethed, A faceless child flashed before my eyes.."Captain! We need you!" She shouted. Fire burned behind her.

"To hell with that, I don't want to do it. Just kill me now, Fortunato, because _I'm going to kill you_." I shouted.

Fortunato laughed a deep chortle that bellowed out into the crowd. "Yeah, mon, he like your fire !" In front of me, the crowd responded. He shook his head and motioned to one of the guards. A beautiful woman with straight black hair and gold robes brought forth an object and handed it to Fortunato. She held the object like it was sacred.

"It ok, mon, I get it." He said as he laughed. "Da' travelr take over now. The gift be your guide. You see his way in a minute." He said. "Den, you be one o' us."

Fortunato had a devilish look in his eyes and a wide evil grin on his face. He flipped the seal on the ampoule and held the dark container high over his head. His eyes gleamed as he displayed it to the mass of crazed dervishes below. The crowd swooned and cheered at the site of the container.

He pushed his thumbs inward on the middle portion of the cylinder. The glass cracked with a pop over my head. Fortunato let the black liquid drip downward like dark syrup as it streamed to my flesh.

Then, the horror crept in.

I did not fight as I felt the warmth of the goo touch my skin. Instantly the dark ooze came to life. The surface quivered with vibration and it slid over my body and face.

Like the vial in the Kalish woman's cave laboratory, the thing was clearly a living organism. _A parasite_. I felt the gruesome sensation as the undulating blob slid into my mouth and down my throat. I convulsed for a moment and gave a twitch , but the organism moved so fast. It felt nauseating as it greased a path down my throat, but there was no pain. In a quick second, the unpleasant experience was over.

For all my troubles, I was now a host to the _living essence of evil_.

For several seconds, nothing happened. The crowd was deathly silent in the seats below as they scanned my body. Fortunato looked intently at me for some kind of a reaction.

Then, I felt the "gift" set in.

The rush of strength and adrenalin surged in my muscles. My arms and legs felt like they would burst with raw power.

I looked at my arms as the veins of my body bulged and turned black. They flashed the darkness then faded back to their natural color. The pressure in my eyes was intense, and I could only guess they flashed the same blotchy patches of oil within a moment, I was again blind It felt like my head was going to explode.

Then , came the visions.

My mind drifted to dark places. In a wild trance, I thought of murder and gore. _These fools thought themselves my equal_. It was an influx of the worst things I had ever seen. The faceless child came at me again. _The Razor._ In a split second, I relieved all my own worst scenes. A town full of dead human colonists on Haifa V . The murdered children of Hargon IIV. I held my good friends as they died in my arms. I saw the wasted colony of Marathon. The drums burst into an erratic beat that throbbed in my head. Always the _Razor _came back.

_They were all my worst memories_,_ condensed to a blinding flash of destruction and death_. It would have been enough to drive most men mad.

They _needed me_, the voices shouted. The calls screamed for me.

Then, the drums took a new rhythm in my head. I felt the strength of the beats. I felt their power course through my body and veins. They pounded slow, yet strong.

I felt the peace and dark solace of the black places in-between realities. _The place In-Between._

I could see _it_ there. For a moment or a lifetime, I passed beyond this reality, to a sliver of a realm, in between the crossroads of infinity. This was the place the old gods had hidden. Beyond the realm of dreams and the unknown places. This was they place they rested as they slept.

Only one of them did not sleep.

I felt the power in that dark place. It waited and watched for a way through. A massive planet of a creature, drifting in the darkness. Dark glowing objects orbited all around the leviathan as it floated in the nothing. They were his as well. Creatures with fangs and shooting stalks. The great traveler's massive tendrils sailed like asteroid belts around the beast. The aura of hatred and evil filled my soul. I felt it's poisoned soul and peace all at once.

In the center of the great one, was an unblinking eye. It was the size of a continent. Unlike his brothers and sisters, this one did not sleep. It was awake. Always, it looked for the way through.

There was no true light here, but I could see it all. I could feel the _solace_ of entropy. From this place in-between, I could hear the voices of the realm of living things. I could hear the cursed pierces of the light as it shattered the peace. _The light must die_.

My mind felt lost here. It was not even needed. This was a realm of madness. He would show me the way. My mind and thoughts would be useless now.

But then, suddenly, something pulled me back. I felt the loss as I was pulled from a serene place. It felt like I left the warmth of a fire and jumped into the cold night. Once again, I felt the grit of the granite slab on my back and the sound of chanting and drums. I could not tell if Fortunato stood over me like a master executioner who waited to see if the lethal injection met its mark, or if he had the look of an expectant father who watched his wife as she gave birth. It was a strange moment.

The power flooded my body.

My rage and anger became uncontrollable. I lashed out at my captors. I did not care who they were. _Entropy_. The guard holding my legs buckled as the others came to assist him. I felt the leather binds holding my wrists rip and tear as my skin sliced open.

The leather tore apart on both my manacles at once. The effort took a good deal of my own flesh with it. I kicked hard with both legs into the metal masks of the two guards holding my legs. The bronze helmets caved with the force of my heel, sending the guards backwards. The other guard brought forth his spear to run me through. Fortunato backed off the fray and motioned to the guard to drop his spear. The guard nodded and tossed the pole arm to the ground.

Papa watched and sat without any change to his expression or glare. He said nothing as he stared forward.

I swung my hand across the metal mask as the guard rushed me. I could feel my knuckles burst and crack as I dented the helm. The guard went stumbling back. Blood dripped from under the pounded metal.

The crowd roared with noise around me.

The two other guards now rushed me. One had ditched his dented helm and screamed with rage. I ducked quickly and grabbed both of them by the neck with a double maneuver. My power felt unreal as I pushed them back over the sacrificial slab and sent them down the edge to the crowd below.

I heard more shouts of glee from the seas of people all around.

Both guards bounced off the stone steps as they slid down the massive pyramid shaped alter. They hit the bottom and lay motionless. Soon, the crowd moved in on them and kicked and trampled them as they disappeared into the mob. The blood lust was palpable in the thick air of Leng.

As I looked for my next victim, the nausea hit me like a rock to the head.

I went to my knees and buckled over. The vomit came uncontrollably. It was a deep guttural sickness.

Fortunato stood over me with his hands on his hips. He shook his head.

"You got too many of the robo bugs in you, mon." Fortunato said. "'Da Traveler push those bad tings out of your body." He said.

I guessed Fortunato referred to the nannite enhancements I had in my body and in my immune system. They were standard fare for UCF soldiers and interplanetary travelers. Somehow, the parasite in my body now moved to expel those items from my body.

I stumbled over again as I coughed up more dark bile. I was locked in this for what seemed like minutes. Those around me just stood and watched. I could not hear the crowd any more.

I collapsed down a few of the steps. My stomach burned with sharp pains.

Below, in the crowd there was still silence.

Fortunato looked back at Papa and shook his head.

"Somtin wrong, Papa." Fortunato said. "This is bad."

Papa suddenly came out of his trance and looked at Fortunato.

"Nothing is wrong." Papa's voice sound distorted and robotic. I could hear it echo within my head. I felt the warmth of the _place in-between_ when I heard him. "He is a human from Earth. His kind is immune. _Antigens._ His gift is being rejected. I told you this would be difficult."

Fortunato looked distressed.

"I told you to wait till the poison had passed from his body." Papa added.

"But I gave 'em da pill. It should have worked." He said.

Papa looked down at Fortunato. His dark black eyes looked like a seas of oil set in his face.

"Take him below to the portal." Papa responded "The way is nearly open."

Fortunato motioned to the guards. The arranged their helmets again and moved to pick me up. My whole body was convulsing in cramps and I kept gagging on my dry throat.

"But how will 'dis work." Fortunato asked Papa.

"The Traveler has the gift for others. He can turn the hunter. The Razor will be ours or he will die." Papa responded. "Besides, we can always find another."

Fortunato smiled as he motioned the guards to bring me down. With a snap, more men with the grotesque masks appeared from a passage way behind Papa and the throne. Two of them had older style combat rifles slung over their shoulder.

As they grabbed me by the arms, my muscles quivered with a strange sense of exhaustion. I dry heaved again as my stomach continued to feel like I had eaten nails. As the guards dragged me around the rear of the stage, I still felt some of the lingering effects of the Creek Monster's neurotoxin in my body as well. It was all so hard to tell now. My whole body ached.

"Take 'em down below." Fortunato told the guards. "He's goes ta meet 'da Traveler now."


	19. Chapter 19

I could hear the crowd mumble and groan as I disappeared from view. Blood and bile dripped from my mouth as the wardens dragged me along the stone. From the stains that coated the worn floor, I could tell it was a place that had seen its share of gore. I teetered between consciousness as we approached the thick double oak doors behind the Throne.

Two dark haired woman with painted bodies opened the thick bolt fastened to the outside. The lock seemed more geared for keeping things from below in than intruders out. As the wood slid across the slides, the wooden door swung open. Behind the door, a foreboding stone stairwell led down.

The way down was a steep pitch, far more acute of an angle than any stair would be constructed in a comfortable home.

In my haze, the next few moments were lucid visions of chthonic darkness.

We passed under the etched archway of the stairwell leading down. The thick wooden door creaked and slammed shut behind us. The weak light shifted to the soft evil glow of torchlight and mounted braziers. I could hear the massive timber used to lock the door fasten behind me.

I was too weak to even struggle now. The violent fury of my infection had fully ebbed. Now, I felt drained. The flame from the torches gave off shadows that bobbed across the crumbling stone. I could see strange shapes in that light, but my senses were not to be trusted. As we struggled down, a warm breeze rushed upward. The air carried a foul smell of decomposition and ammonia.

I was held tight by the burly guards. Their metal pauldrons and helms pinched against my skin. My physical pains and spasms continued as they dragged be deep under the amphitheater and into the dark ruins of old Leng.

Eventually, we flattened out into angled hallways. The paths felt like long sloping ramps that edged downward. Some were quite steep. At first, it smelled of must and sod, of moist soil and rot. The deeper we stepped, the air was much more difficult to breath. It went from a nuanced odor to one of toxic concern. I could make out stone hallways with narrow walls around me. Sometimes, I would see the light of the torches illuminate different halls and corridors that shot off in different directions. I felt like I was being carried through a giant, three dimensional, maze.

The same primordial geometric patterns and mathematical carvings adorned the walls. The ornamentation grew sparse as we went deeper.

My feet dragged against worn stones. Despite the darkness and air, this was a trafficked pathway.

As we jutted deeper into the subterranean ruins, we approached another narrow stairwell leading down. This one was wider than the first. The guard's armor clanked as they heaved me down. The men progressed down the steps with me raised above their shoulders. After this, more hallways awaited us again, and more stairwells. After a while I lost track of time.

During this trek, my escorts said nothing. Occasionally, they would grunt or sigh with exertion, but they did not attempt to chat with me. I don't know if I could have said anything back to them. My throat was coarse and dry. I wanted a drink of water in the worst way. There are few tortures worse than that of an unquenched thirst. It was a lonely descent, and I feared I headed down to my grave.

I found myself in and out of consciousness as we kept dropping down. My feet slid limply on the stone. I could feel them cut and bleeding on the coarse floor. The thirst became unbearable.

I wondered just how far we had traveled under Leng. I could feel immense pressure over my head. My ears popped and crisped with the depths. I began to feel like I was miles underground.

As we stretched deeper, moss and lichen grew over the carved rock, eerie mushrooms and stalked yellowish vegetation grew between the soils filled gaps. The rock was wet in spots with water and moisture. I begged to lick the stuff but my captors would not allow it. Some of these plants gave off an eerie phosphorescence. The torches got less frequent here, and sometimes the light from the plants was the only source of reference. I swore I could hear open water or the bubbling of springs off in the guards dripped with sweat and moaned with exhaustion as we kept on. There endurance was impressive. They paused now and then and set me on the cold floor. I could hear their heavy breath. They did not even talk among themselves. It was cold without my clothes on. Soon, I felt exposed and hypothermic. I shivered intensely as I lay on the icy rock. As I rested on cold stone, I finally got a chance to lap up some foul dripping pool of run off. Even under these great depths, the water tasted sour.

One of the coldest places we stopped had a distant opening that seemed to merge with a natural cave. I noted stalactites and stalagmites in this area beyond the path. At the edge of the black limits, I swore I saw a set of glowing blue eyes among the phosphorescent lichens. They looked strangely like the eyes of a cat. My jailors saw nothing as they picked me up.

The air was getting more and more hostile. Coupled with the growing cold, I could sense the powerful rush of ammonia or methane every so often. My dry heaves and gags occurred more frequently. I had trouble keeping my teeth from chattering.

We passed by more hallways.

These structures were wider and lit with lined chemical lights. The smell of methane was strong, and the nearby halls were lined with additional machines that looked ancient.

In these busier halls, there were boxes and crates stacked along the walls. First, I noticed wooden palates and containers with Omertan writing on the side. They had been the same type crates filled with Omertan Gold I had noticed on Fortunato's ship. Next to these crates were bails of the narcotic weed set in rotting stacks. The smell of foul ammonia burned my nose as we passed.

In the distance, I noticed vats of strange chemicals and Leng-ites donned in white protective suits.

As I was dragged by one open crate I could see they were marked with a Earth Bio-hazard symbol on the side. _Perhaps, I wondered, these were more of the dark ampoules I had seen?_

In rooms beyond this, machinery hummed and clanked. I wondered if some sort of processing was taking place. With all my weakened curiosity, I wondered if this was some sort of underground drug lab.

They dragged me past this hallway as we followed the green chemical runners embedded in the dirty moss covered ceilings. In one wide rock hallway, the path opened up into a very large chamber. I could hear a noise in this room and felt the rush of warmer air.

Eventually, the narrow tunnel opened up into a larger room. Small rows of chemical lights were placed on the walls. I could hear the sound of machines and movement.

We passed another hall with stacked green crates. They were metal and marked with standard UCF placards. Boxes and Boxes of weapons and ammunition stretched down the corridor as far as I could see. Some of the larger boxes looked interesting. Larger palates were just the right size to fit suits of older UCF powered armor_. So, _I thought_, Leng did have a modern arsenal of weapons hidden away._

The guards were thick here. Patrols of rugged men with knives and axes often walked past . They would offer a grunt or groan to my two captors as we slinked by.

As we neared this room, I had noticed there were flat bent girders that supported the structure of the tunnel. The buttresses were corroded with time, but they were clearly some sort of ancient metal reinforcement. The steel was out of place in a time lost primitive ruin.

At the far end of this large room, we came to a creaking lift. I could see little, but Fortunato was already here, waiting for us.

He was chewing on the same foul narcotic root of Leng. The smell was acrid and pungent. It gave everyone on Leng the smell of ammonia.

"What took 'ya all so long?" he asked. The guards did not answer. I could hear them continue to breathe heavy as they stood in silence, awaiting the orders of their leader.

Weird patterns of shapes and ellipses dotted the seams of rock around the metal door. It was a single metal door that slide upward on ancient hydraulics. Down below, past the doors, I could hear the deep spitting of steam and something metal echoing with a heavy creaking. The noise of turning gears picked up volume. As the hissing got louder, I realized it was a massive elevator slowly made it's way upward.

In this large room, the steel girders formed a lattice work of wild supports.

The ceilings were high here and the room was fairly large. I could not see the limit of most of the room. Moss hung from the maze of metal support joists high over my head. The rock and metal formed spots of shadow. In those areas I could not tell how high the ceiling reached. Yet Again, in one black spot, I could almost make out the set of feline blue eyes glowing in the dark.

_My mind was truly gone_, I thought.

Below, old dusty machine terminals blinked with dull light. The stations were still evidently functional after what must have been an unimaginable amount of time.

Fortunato whistled as he waited.

"This place was built to hold my master long ago. Hundreds of miles of metal and rock." Fortunato said. "Da' Tunnels go for miles down 'ere. Dey zig zag everywhere." He spit some of his root out on the floor. "But underneath it go deeper down. To old places. Dat's where we found de way in. Dat's where my master found what e 'ad been lookin for all dis time."

"What was that?" I struggled to ask.

Behind Fortunato and his guard, the elevator hissed and gas spit from the joints in the door. A clud of unknown hot air plumed from the bottom of the metal grate. A huge metal clank sounded as gears mashed together. After a silent pause, gas spit again as the doors slide downward into a narrow metal sleeve in the ground.

Fortunato waved the guards forward onto the simple metal floor of the lift.

'Down in da depths," He said. "Da portal, mon" He said with growing excitement. "It's near 'da end now, Colonel. Almost time."


	20. Chapter 20

The elevator creaked and shook as it moved downward into the dark depths. Strings of routed green chemical lights lined the exterior lattice work of corroded metal reinforcements. The metal structure was massive, but it also felt like it was going to fall apart at any moment. As I looked beyond the metal grates that contained us, I could see an endless expanse of black nothing.

A whistle startled my weak senses, Fortunato made the guards stand me upright.

"Put 'dis around your mouth." He said as he brought a modern piece of equipment out of his pocket. "You'll need it fo' now." Fortunato said as he configured a small plastic oval shaped item.

The item was a simple oxygen breather. It was a civilian model, made for cave divers or low pressure underwater assistance. It probably contained a couple hours of air.

Fortunato wrapped the plastic mouth piece over my head and fixed the cup over my lips. He slid the small band over the back of my scalp as the mouthpiece activated with a green light. Instantly, I could feel the fresh air of filtered oxygen enter my lungs. My muscles twitched with the break from the toxic air.

Despite the help, inside my body, a war still raged.

"When you meet 'da travalar you wont be needin dat no more." He said.

Far below, metal and gears clicked as the lift slid downward. My ears popped and I felt the insane madness of the depths. _Into the ziggurat_ , I thought as I recalled what the Kalish woman had called the plateau of Leng.

My muscle pulsed with the return of my strength. The processed air helped me, even if the aid failed to fully cure my woes. I still felt a weird power inside. _Was it the parasite?_ With this surge, I could feel the solace of the dark place_ In-Between._ The glow of the dark leviathan filled me with hatred of the light. _The Taint._ My anger surged and hatred would flex my veins. I wanted to destroy. _The evil was inside._

As we shot down into the darkness, a loud metal click sounded in the shadows as gears shifted and adjusted to a reduced track. The elevator slowed down as it passed to a different speed ratio. Soon after, the elevator made another loud click and passed to a still slower gear. _We were coming to a stop._

I heard the hiss of hydraulics and a spit of gas as the elevator screeched. Then, the lift stopped. The world jiggled for me as I adjusted to the strange feeling. My captors picked me up again by my armpits and dragged me out of the lift as the doors rushed open. My inner ear struggled to keep me oriented.

The next few moments are hazy to me , even though they were just moments ago.

The great room was before us.

As the lift opened, the metal doors oozed out into a huge pavilion of stone and rock.

Fortunato and several of his guards accompanied me. The two large custodians still dragged me along as they sweat and panted with fatigue.

The room was a large sized atrium adjoined by several tunnels and round aqueducts. In some ways, it reminded me of some ancient throne room, fit for a king of the black depths. More passages sprung off into dark alleys and chutes. Many of these looked like older drainage tubes that had foul smelling water drop from them like waterfalls above my head. Most of them had no lights and looked largely unused.

Several more guards milled about. One approached my two captors and assisted them to bring me into the room.

This room had been prepared with strange writing and symbols all over the subtance seemed to be the same white chalk the tribesmen used on their bodies. The darker writing was more grim. Perhaps it was blood, given the violence of these people. The writing was certainly newer and part of whatever black rituals were going on in these depths. Again, I guessed the writing was close to old Icthian, but this was only a delusion. In truth, I had no clue what the strange markings were.

As I looked to the ground, the writing and marks were scratched all over the floors as well. The writing was shaped in a "many angled" polygon across the stone. The great size made the shape too difficult to gauge.

Foul things smoldered around me. The room stunk of some sort of dark tribal magic. _Or was that the depths themselves? _The smell was so strong of methane and ammonia here, i could smell the foul odor through the cheap re-breather. This probably explained the lack of torch light as the chamber and enclosed space would not mix well with open fire. Methane and open flame do not mix well.

The sound of humming voices came into my ears. The soft thump of deer skin drums slowly emerged.

As my exhausted guides dragged me forward to the center of the room, I finally noticed the group of men in robes. These were hooded figures with long dark stained red robes. Similar symbols and writing were painted and dyed on to the robes, though it was tough to tell in the weak green chemical lights. I swore their skin had been scratched and cut as they raised there arms in prayers. Their heads looked bald and disfigured with scratches. There may have been six or seven of them in a line. As we approached, most of them turned their backs to me and knelt prostrate before a further object.

A row of shirtless courtesans with shaved heads tapped on drums beyond the priests. Their faces dipped down as if they were sleeping.

The energy of evil was thick in the air. Here, I thought of the dark place _In-Between_ often. The thought was a cancer in my mind. I craved the warmth of the place once again. I wanted to douse myself in the emotion of hate as if it were the water of a warm bath. It called to me.

The chant was no language I had ever heard. As I heard the tones of sharp vowels and guttural moans, the noise made whatever was inside of me congeal with added pain. In my state of mind, this gave me some sort of weird pleasure. As the words kept their rhythm and grew louder, the exhaustion and pain that coursed through my body now began to give me a weird power. It is difficult to explain.

In front of the black priests, a massive arched doorway formed in my view.

But instead of stretch into another chamber, this door was special.

Madness rushed my brain from the sight of the door. _This was the way_, I knew. The sight stole whatever breath I had left. I struggled to remain myself. Inside the arch was the substance of the dark ampoules. The wall was a living parasite. The round aperture looked like a congealing swirl of black molasses and oil.

The wall quivered and vibrated with the sound of the music.

_This was the black portal_. This was the path to the dark places _in-between_. The swirling ooze called to me in whispers. I could hear the words in my ear beckon me forward.

I knew behind the membrane of evil was my _Dark Star._ The old one. The Dark Traveler and his legions. He waited for me now.

I could sense something unfinished with the structure. The enchantments were not bound. The wards were not all broken. _The path was not yet ready_, I could feel the light still binding the arch.

My benefactor slapped me on the back.

Fortunato walked to the front and touched the stones of the construction. He whispered something into the depths of the ooze. It vibrated with waves like living tar as he spoke.

Fortunato looked back and saw my drooling on the floor.

"It almost ready, now." Fortunato said as he looked back to me.

"Da' power the old fools used to bound my Papa here" He said. "It will become da' tool we will use to free _his_ master. All our master. Da' creator hisself, da great Travela, mon." He said.

"But we still need a coupa days now, till he come through." Fortunato said. "When you meet him now, you see."

I couldn't muster a word of defiance. I was mostly broken now. _Mostly._

I looked at the arch again.

Around the glow of the black wall of ooze was a ring of etched stones. Some of the glyphs glowed red with a blood red light. These bricks had a condensed set of alien writing all over their exterior. What was that writing? Again, the stones were old and worn but the writing was new. These sights defied all of my senses of logic and science. _I did not believe in "magic"._

But there were also signs of a weird science. Strange tubes flowed under neath the circle. Some of these tubes looked like ancient metal coil, others appeared modern and new. A few were translucent and pumped dark liquids to the portal.

I felt the vibrations in the room dig deep into my bones. My teeth chattered as the dark priests wailed. But the vibrations felt like they came from the portal itself. _Machines behind the door?_ Objects were blurred to me as I squinted to make out everything.

It was hard not to get sidetracked with the emotion of the object. _Hatred_ kept filling my mind. I would find my mind bounced between Fredrick Montressor and something far more malevolent. Madness. As the minutes went by, I felt it was more difficult to remain myself.

I had never felt the sting of losing my mind, but the sting of having my mind taken from me was even worse.

Fortunato whistled and waved my guards forward again.

The searing pain doubled me over as the guards dragged me along. Fortunato stood next to the dark portal and ran his finger across the surface.

He began a chant again in some dark tongue. His words melded with the dark priests in unison.

Then the _magic_ began.

I looked behind me as I felt something scurry.

Through the breather, I caught once again the hint of black pepper. My eyes briefly watered.

The azure flash sparkled in the black. I knew what it was, and I smiled.

The blue eyes I saw in the darkness were no illusion or hallucination. They were _real_.

They were the eyes of a cat...and I saw them again here in the depths. My prey had followed me all this time, to the dark heart of Leng.

_Kali._

The growl rang out through the chamber and slurred the chants. The chant stopped as the dark faces looked backwards.

Suddenly, there was silence in the depths.

Fortunato came to life and sprung up. He snapped his fingers at his guards and they dropped me on the raw stone floor like bag of rocks. I fell hard and pummeled the floor.

"What 'dat?" He shouted into the black depths of the chambers beyond. It was an aggressive call.

The eyes were gone into the darkness. I could not see them.

As Fortunato scanned out to the shadows, a low feline growl greeted his call. The call was long and disturbing.

Fortunato squirmed with fear.

The growl shifted in tone as to speak some wild feline language. It felt like a curse.

I looked up fast enough to see the blue eyes in the dark. The eyes were back! The bright blue reached out and shook the room with thunder. These were the eyes of fury and destruction. _The Kali_ , I thought to myself. _The scourge of Leng. _I smiled as the pain pierced my insides.

I knew it was Fredrick Montressor who cracked a grin and not the evil ghast who dwelt inside me.

The blue flash sprung from the black, ripping out with azure talons to a scared guard with an incredible violence. His neck ripped as the paw swept across his neck with a hiss. Black blood flew meters across the defiled floor.

A group of shirtless sentrys responded to the attack.

For the guards, they met the beast with outstretched spears. I only wished I could see the fear on their faces underneath the grotesque masks they wore. The men set a quick wall of spears as they ducked to their knees. They moved with skill, fast and swift, but the giant cat was faster. With leaping saber tooth and paw, it smashed the spears and broke through the line to slice through bone.

Screams rang through the depths. Fortunato repelled and grabbed a metal baton from his waist band. He clicked a button on the device, nano reactive metal extended and the J'narr spear jutted out, razor sharp and ready for battle.

'Get 'dat bitch!" He shouted.

As my escorts kicked me as paced nervously around my body, I heard the screams and the sound of flesh rip as the men crashed down and wood splintered. The tiger was into the dark group of clerics. As they fled, the blood priests cried out in panic. From dark corners, more guards rushed forward and screamed in anger. The men all held blades or truncheons .

_No firearms?_, I wondered.

There was a blind maelstrom of slashing blades and swiping claw. The growls rang out and the tiger pounced with its massive saber teeth.

Finally, my guards left me and ran at the beast with screams. I flopped to the stone and crumpled into a ball. But It was a feign. As I looked up and noticed no guards tracked me, I made a move to leap for a far wall and a dark tube.

As I ran, I finally got a solid look at the great Kali tiger in all her glory.

The creature was truly impressive.

She was double the size of an old earth cat, only with stouter legs and a sleeker frame. he cat felt like a royal incarnation of elegance and destructive power. Death. A goddess of killing. Her black striped blue fur crested with dark feather like hairs that hardened into deadly spikes on her spine and neck. Her paws were as big as her tracks. In her face, were odd orange stripes and feather like whiskers. Dark black and blue stripes peppered her fur. My eyes watered a bit when I stared at her, as if someone had tossed pepper again into my eyes. I thought it was impossible for an animal to look so beautiful and deadly all at once. The paws were nearly as wide as the deer skin shields the tribesman wore as protection.

The sleek strum of a sitar sounded._ Perhaps, my translation software in my inner ear malfunctioned._

In a brief moment of respite from the slaughter in front of me , she turned and looked at me.

The azure eyes pierced my soul. _Sapphires of death itself._

The blue oceans of eyes glowed like gems of destruction. Right away, I could recognize the creature sensed my internal struggle. I saw the intelligence in her. This was no simple animal or predator. There was purpose in those eyes. _Sentience_. An intelligence well beyond mine. I knew now that my hunt on this dark plateau had been total folly.

I knew with my quest to help these "poor people of Leng" , I had helped the _wrong_ side.

_Some people deserve a plague_, I heard the woman say. As I looked in those eyes, I knew this to be true.

She saw me there and I felt everything. This was no Kali Tiger. _This was Kali, _goddess of _destruction_. I flashed to a vision of shifting arms and shiny swords. Silks and gentle music.

The moment passed in a shrieking second. The tiger hissed at me as it turned its head to the attacking men. Behind them, the dark portal churned and vibrated.

Naked and confused, with certain death in my gut struggling to take over my soul, I did the only thing I could...I ran.

I looked back to the wet tunnel. Water drained from the chute. The tunnel was clearly not used and abandoned. _It must go somewhere_, I thought in my head. As I put the cramps and pain behind me, I put my head down and sprinted for the passage.

The spasm came like a spear gutting me in the stomach. This was probably because at that moment, an actual spear _did_ gut me. To my shock, the awl pushed right through my side and came out my abdomen. Blood spurted forward as I held the sharp tip of the J'narr blade in my hands.

I ripped off the grip of the cheap plastic re breather as I struggled to stand. The stench of the foul air coursed through my lungs. I coughed blood over the stone in front of me.

I had enough time to turn around and see Fortunato smile. The sea of fighting bodies swirled behind him like a blurry tempest.

He yanked out his spear and the blood spilled to the stone.

"Truth is mon, I never like you any how." He said as he spit on the stone."Maybe now da traveler choose me to lead 'em." He whispered over the sounds of carnage. Beyond, I could see the tiger rip out a throat. More tribesman poured from other areas.

I buckled down to my knees and looked at the wound. I touched the blood as it dripped around the gushing hole. I looked at Fortunato as he laughed. I was finished. This was a mortal wound.

Fortunato let out a monstrous chuckle as I stumbled back through the wet tunnel. He did not chase me as I fumbled through the black abyss in front of me.

But something gave me strength.

I put my head down and ran, as Fortunato's laughs rang out in my head.

The chute was pitch black ahead of me. The hole and wound ripped further and shrieked with pain as I moved my legs back and forth. The pain seared as it gnashed the sides of my body. The passage was narrow, it was not meant to be traversed by a man of my height. The water splashed as the corridor winded through turn after turn. The madness swirled in my head. Death felt eminent, and my mind could only fathom the crazed dash to escape a danger I was not fit to confront.

With bumbled feet, I went through forks and dark cobwebbed junctions. For awhile, I could still hear battle behind me and the cry of death. The roar of a cat rang through the halls and echoed far down the halls. Slowly, this sound muted behind the flow of water.

_I wish I could have helped her fight._

In the dark, I slammed against a hard stone wall and nearly lost my head. The blood poured from my open wound as I stumbled to keep my feet.

I ran through the dark and unknown curves of the passage. Eventually, I stumbled out above another confluence. Water sounded all around me. I lost all footing as the floor beneath me parted into a cliff. I barreld over a small water fall and crushed against the stone ground.

As I dropped down into this chamber I felt the pool of ankle deep water around me. Water thundered peacefully in the dark.

I see dark human shapes stand around me in this place. The air was stale and cold. Sometimes, gusts of warmer gasses would rush through. This whole complex was a winding maze of drainage tunnels and sewers.

I tried to lift my body.

But this was the end.

My muscles seized and cramped. I could not even feel my legs.

Finished, I lay there in the water. At least, the pool around me was somewhat clean. It smelled less foul than the other fluid in these ruins. With my hand, I satisfied my thirst as I awaited death.

Above the sound of the flow of water, I could not hear the noise of battle any longer. I could not hear the footfall of Fortunato or his wicked laughter. I could hear strange moans and growls from the dark, but they seemed deeper and far off.

For certain, something evil would find me here, soon. Another one of Leng's monsters no doubt. I only hoped I would die from my wounds before then.

I touched the hole in my abdomen. This was a fatal wound. This was my tomb.

With these thoughts, I settled down in this very spot.

The mist raised as I blinked in and out of focus.


	21. Chapter 21

And so here I lay.

I have told you of my final mistake. There is no more.

The music is sweet now. I cannot even feel the pain or the cold.

I will never know more of what went on here. My curiosity ebbs with each breath closer too death.

Two sets of eyes stand above me.

I can hear the heavy breath of an animal. I see the blue eyes of my tiger.

I see another figure. A small wretch with glowing green eyes, perhaps a crazed hermit of these tunnels. Perhaps , it is a ghoul who hopes to eat my flesh. It holds something in it's hand.

The blue eyes of Kali pace back and forth. She has come for me.

_Kali _was never any race of Tiger. _Kali _was her name. Destruction.

The green eyed figure kneels next to me. _Do I smell lavender?_ Somehow, I sense a light touch. _What is that damn thing it holds?_ I can feel it caress my wound and look into my eyes. I can;t even speak.

_I am here! I try to shout, but my lips don't move._

The roar of the cat sounds in the shadow.

Just when my whole body is finally numb, I feel the sharp pain of a prick of metal. _A needle?_ The injection shoots pain into all my nerves. For a moment, it feels as if it will jolt me back into life. But I am lost. I settle into the water. _Back into my grave_.

Everything feels warm now. I am naked and wet, miles underground. The fire inside warms me and I smile.

The fall of water and the sound of voices mumbles in my brain as I finally welcome death.

The June breeze of Ganymede feels pleasant against my cheek. I see my father once again and walk down the path to the mountain.


	22. Chapter 22

And so here I lay.

I have told you of my final mistake. There is no more.

The music is sweet now. I cannot even feel the pain or the cold.

I will never know more of what went on here. My curiosity ebbs with each breath closer too death.

Two sets of eyes stand above me.

I can hear the heavy breath of an animal. I see the blue eyes of my tiger. Death is here.

I see another figure. A small wretch with glowing green eyes, perhaps a crazed hermit of these tunnels. Perhaps , it is a ghoul who hopes to eat my flesh. It holds something in it's hand.

The blue eyes of Kali pace back and forth. She has come for me.

_Kali _was never any race of Tiger. _Kali _was her name. Destruction. Death. Change?

The green eyed figure kneels next to me. _Do I smell lavender?_ Somehow, I sense a light touch. _What is that damn thing it holds?_ I can feel it caress my wound and look into my eyes. I can't even speak.

_I am here! I try to shout, but my lips don't move._

The roar of the cat sounds in the shadow.

Just when my whole body is finally numb, I feel the sharp pain of a prick of metal. _A needle?_ The injection shoots pain into all my nerves. For a moment, it feels as if it will jolt me back into life. But I am lost. I settle into the water. _Back into my grave_.

Everything feels warm now. I am naked and wet, miles underground. The fire inside warms me and I smile. I accept this end. I accept the death and misery that followed me like a an unwanted plague. _I am the Razor of Kull-Ghu._

_No regrets._

The fall of water and the sound of voices mumbles in my brain as I finally welcome death.

The June breeze of Ganymede feels pleasant against my cheek. I see my father once again and walk down the path to the mountain.


	23. Chapter 23

The tiger sat by the makeshift fire pit and growled with anticipation. She was relaxed, but still on guard.

I could feel her aura of power and danger as she sprawled out on the stone floor.

A thunder rumbled outside on the cliffs.

She was not afraid of me, nor of anything else. I could feel her legacy, her glow of an eon of destruction. A large bird lay at her paws as she licked the dead husk. She was hungry. The bird was a bit smaller than the roc I had dispatched earlier, but it was no small creature. Her massive paws and sharp fangs rubbed the feathers and gently plucked them out. She purred with pleasure as she looked at me with haunted blue eyes.

Despite her embodiment of destruction, unlike the dark star beyond, there was balance in her. _There can be no destruction without creation_. She was married to this. She was a part of this world.

The pure chi of the great cat seemed to crackle with static electricity.

Her huge frame took up most of that side of the room. I could see the sharp spikes on her back. They were like matted fur hardened into deadly tips. Her eyes never seemed to stop watching me.

Next to the tiger were crates and packages with the label of "Sunni Zarr" Corporation on the side. I had not noticed these before. _Irony._

As I looked at her, I felt the woman with six arms dance in rhythm to the beat of a sitar. Her silken halter blurred in the night. Fine inlaid jewels and pearls sparkled from her body. Shiny curved swords flashed in my head. Her skin was blue and her black hair had streaks of blood red. The deep blue eyes were like oceans beyond reality.

_Kali._

_I am watching you Montressor. Razor of Kull- Ghu!_

_I felt the voice invade my head._

"Eat something." Johanna said as she shoved the ration into my face.

I looked down at the package of standard UCF hot dogs and beans. It was, in fact, my favorite. "So , I'm starting to think you may have used me as bait?" I said as I took the package. "In fact, I know you did."

"We tracked you there. When you were here the first time, I fed you a tracking device." she said as I broke open the package.

"Ah, those go great with chicken broth." I said. " What do I get this time with the hot dogs?"

"I had a rough idea of what they were trying to do. We wanted the location of the Hand and his weapons. The portal was the wildcard. It changes everything."

"What about your weapons?" I asked.

"I am sorry, we felt it was the only way." She said. "I'm under orders to hold back."

The tiger purred and beamed its eyes as I looked at her.

"The weapons?" I asked again.

"In the wall locker." She said. "But you may want to get your gear back. Its in a pile next to it." She said.

I looked next to the metal locker and there it was. My long rifle a dirty pack, and "Old Faithful" stuck on the top. Everything looked filthy dirty. I smiled as I picked up my precious handgun.

"Good god woman!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, you left it by the river. That's a nice blaster of yours." She said with a smile.

Suddenly I felt the draft and noticed the dark curtain.

I threw back the rag and noticed the dark passage leading down into the plateau. On the ground, the dusty floor had foot sign for one woman, a large tiger, and something that looked like a pair of dragged feet.

"So this whole place is connected?" I asked. "This leads to where you found me"

"Yep, eventually. Its a long ways off. " She said." Hundreds of miles of caves and tunnells through the plateau."

"Hmm."

In a blur, the way through the tunnels flashed in my head. I could sense the layout of thousands of crisscrossing chutes and passages.

"I told you this whole place was built by my ancestors. It took weeks for us to map the few trails we know. Many go deeper, down to the surface and below. It gets dangerous down there." She added. "I told you something of a lie. My ancestors built most of this thing, but there was something here before. Something older. Leng has been around for a long time."

"I know, Johanna, at least I do now. Fortunato said whatever those people used to hold his master here, was what they used to build the gateway." I replied.

"Interesting." She said. "Who is this asshole anyway?"

I leveled off my rifle and worked the action. It was gritty. Dirt and grime were jammed in the bolt. The sights may have been off.

"Papa can't be killed." Johanna said.

"So you said" I answered. "I can tell you he can. But, we need to get in there in destroy the portal." I said. "We need to do it now."

I flipped open the wall locker. A small code pad lit up in the lower left hand corner.

"Daddysgirl" She said.

"Excuse me?" I asked

"The password, its Daddysgirl" She said. It was strange to see a Kalish girl with orange skin blush.

I entered the code. The metal doors to the safe jiggled and popped open with a click. The Nano reactive metal door dissipated. Behind the wall, were several strange alien rifles and what looked like ammunition.

"What the hell are these?" I asked.

"Weapons from beyond the Rim. Golivian. Ushanti. Good stuff." She mumbled.

"Illegal stuff, Johanna." I replied.

"Why the rush?" She asked, changing the subject. "This operation has been months in the making, I'm not deviating from the plan."

I grabbed one of the rifles and looked down the sites. It was like nothing I had seen technology was well beyond Earth level.

"Whose goddamn plan? Zarr's?" I asked. "I'm telling you the portal is almost ready. I can feel it."

"I'm just a two person recon element. My mission was to scout and ID the location of the hand and the possibility of any thing else. Thats it. More help is a few days out, we wait until they show and do this right and then you go home and get sauced."

"Jesus where the hell did you get these? Was it Sunni Zarr? Is that who you work for?" I asked as I fiddled with the aiming mechanism on one of the smaller blasters."I thought you had a noble mission, is this just some corporate bullshit?"

"No, Montressor, I assure you its not and you really shouldn't do that." She said and snatched the thing away from me. "I don't work for Zarr"

"I told you, I can feel it." I said "You were right. That thing changed me. Something did."

"What the hell are you talking about?" She said as she switched a toggle on the same small pistol. It lit up and the sight let off an orange glow. "here" she said as she handed it back.

"I can feel the darkness. I can feel it. Your _Dark Star_. Papa. This whole place. There's a glimmer in the dark. A way through. Its not good." I said as I shoved a hot dog in my mouth. "God, these are good." I said as I chewed.

She stared at me and was lost in thought. She looked at the tiger Kali as she ripped apart the fowl. Kali returned her gaze, her deadly blue eyes sparkled with acknowledgement.

"Fredrick, I." She said as I kept speaking.

I unwrapped the pear sized metal object from a dirty cloth wrapper in my pile of goods. The green light on the thing blinked slowly as I displayed it to Johanna. The human nuclear symbol was unmistakable. "Did you notice this?"

"A damn fission grenade?" She asked " How the hell did you get that?"

Johanna tossed a glare at Kali. The tiger gave a light snarl.

"Nevermind that." I said. "But, I'm sure they don't expect me to have something like this up my sleeve."

I felt the wind and breeze rush toward the hidden passage behind the curtain.

I looked at Johanna as I threw on a black undershirt in my pack. I pulled out my combat knife and fastened it to my leg.

"What do you have in mind?" Johanna asked.

I pointed to the old battle spear Johanna had mounted above her bed.

"Get your spear down and I'll tell you." I said.

I could hear Kali growl as she ripped the bird apart.


	24. Chapter 24

I slinked through the dark tunnel with my combat knife held in my mouth. It was a narrow tunnel, but my body was able to fit with a couple inches to spare. I knew the duct was built eons ago to funnel pure methane from one part of the plateau to another. How I knew this, I didn't know. Dark knowledge of this place just came to my mind now. Perhaps, it was a residual effect of the "gift" Fortunato mentioned. I had no time to wonder.

_Slaying days_ were once again upon me. Sweat dripped off my forehead as I shuffled in the awkward space.

The stone chutes were still mostly functional. Whoever built Leng did a fine enough job. She was truly built to last. The small space was just wide enough for a man to crawl through but small enough to neglect. Few guards would notice the hole in the wall. It was just another shadow in a crypt of secrets.

The passage wasn't much different than the old mud tunnels we scampered through on _Sirius III_, back in the war. Those hell holes even had fun snakes in them. Just one of my g_reat memories to last a lifetime._

As I strained to inch forward, I looked like a snake myself. My face was covered with a black mud I had found in the sewers. I smeared it all over my exposed skin. The stuff stunk, but it was perfect camouflage. Black long johns were my only clothes. My feet were as bare as a baby's bottom. On my back, I held a small pack containing my "Old Faithful" as an insurance policy. I didn't plan to use the thing much, with all the methane in these catacombs, the use of firearms was unwise.

At last, I came to an old rusted grate. I could hear the sound of noises and clatter outside. The vent looked like a cheap metal replacement to whatever had been in place originally. Carefully, I pushed out the screws easily and wedged my body around it. I was ever so quite as I snuck about in my pajamas.

As for my clothes, I was about get a nice upgrade to my wardrobe.

I dropped down into the storage room, quickly stashing myself behind a pile of stacked crates. Ahead of me, the gloomy guards bounced back and forth. Just as I had hoped, they were armed with spears and clubs down in these depths. Lightly armed and dressed. The methane and volatile gasses were a concern even for their oafish minds. A few meters away, a giant brute of a man with no shirt and fatigue cargo pants moved some of the boxes around. I could smell his putrid body odor and the ammonia smell of the damn narcotic weed in his mouth.

My senses were beyond enhanced. I could feel the man as he focused on his work. He was not paying any attention to the back side of this room where I was, I could sense it.

I moved like Kali across the hall way and behind another set of boxes. I made no noise. I cleared the hall again and crept closer to a large box on the row across from me. It was flush with the dark stone wall and tucked into a nice dark area.

It was just the box I was looking for. A large crate, slightly taller than a man and twice as wide, green with "UCF" markings all over the exterior.

Carefully, I unfastened the snaps on the rear of the panel. I grabbed the green section of box as it dropped down. Grabbing the heavy piece, I eased the remaining portion to the floor.

The box popped open. A fresh silica odor came from inside. I peeled away a layer of packing foam and saw the prize I came for. In front of me, was a fully otfitted _Aegis_ Mark IV Powered Armor set. The breastplate did not have a single scratch on it. _A true war machine._ Its mounted pulse Vulcan hung from its arm along with a detachable box gauntlet housing that contained the molecular Gladius.

The suit was "top of the line" about twenty five years ago. Today, it was certainly a tad outdated. These older models used an ablative form of armor as opposed to the newer kinetic shielded units, but the suit was still brand new and in perfect condition. I cracked a smile. This I knew well._ It would seem this old girl would get to hunt after all._

Carefully, I pulled out the suit and jostled the entry clamps. I stuck my small pack of gear in the rear rucksack compartment on the back. The case shut with a slight click. Next, I swung the panel back like a small door on the rear. Leaning over, I slid into the back entry cab with ease. The thing fit like a glove as I stuck my head out through the neck aperture.

As my head ducked into the hole, the skull cap and spine guard moved to greet my head with a soft click. The auto detectors felt the power of my body heat. Instantly, I heard the soft chime and motor purr. The suit's main power kicked on. The neck probe maneuvered to my ear and the turned internal soft wear on.

I felt out the gauntlets with my fingers for the controls. They were loose and ready to go. The armor was in mint condition. The suit snugged itself around my body as I activated the adjustment mode. Coils tightened the metal and polymer sections around my body to fit my form.

I moved the arms in a jab cross practice series and they whirred to life. The movement was fluid and crisp as my arms swung. The humming of the suit's power core reacted to my metabolic increase and delivered more juice. The internal Heads up Display popped up in my field of vision.

The box snapped as I pushed myself out. I made a fist with the metal fingers of the gauntlet attachment. They worked great. As I pressed another lever in my glove, the pulse Vulcan released from my arm and dropped to the ground. It slammed hard with a metallic thud.

I didn't see much need for stealth any longer.

I heard some distant shouting.

My feet banged on the stone ground as I walked forward.

"What's that back der?" I heard the guard holler.

I threw another tumbler in my gauntlet and activated the Gladius. The molecular honed blade shot out a full twenty four inches from my forearm.

_Blades will have to do, _I thought to myself_._

I saw the guard point over at my direction. There were more shouts from beyond the far halls. With a rattle, other shapes joined the nearby guard with spears in hand.

As they approached, I triggered the helmet armor as the nano reactive metal in the skull cap affixed across my face to form a complete helm. The yellow visor dropped in front of my eyes as the nannites formed the protective layer over my cheeks and mouth. The sound of the suit vacuum seal was music to my ears.

Seconds later, the stored oxygen and fresh air pumped into my lungs. _Jesus, it felt good._

The Aegis suit was now fully operational. It was time for a _deadly_ distraction.

The crowd of men stepped forth in the shadows. The large one had a huge spiked club as he neared.

"What dat racket?" The voice asked.

The time had come to hunt armed men once more.


	25. Chapter 25

The pile of bodies settled into a neat stack as I ripped around with my bloody sword. The Oberian steel shimmered in the dull light of the chemical streamers.

A new horror stalked the dark passages of Leng and it was me.

The long hall stretched out with crates on all sides. Several had the blood stains or the bodies of dead tribesmen next to them. The rusted planks of metal above us and the scratched stone walls had not seen this type of slaughter in a thousand years.

As I turned my head, another man rushed through the darkness with a large pike. He stopped just short of his charge and jabbed out at me with the rugged projectile. The attack was stout, but lazy.

I flicked my wrist and sent my Gladius to defend the attack. The riposte sliced the spear at the wooden handle before the weapon could reach me. At the same time, I wheeled around and smacked the back of his head with the hard Oberian Steel Gauntlet. The painted tribesman's head crumpled at an awkward angle as he keeled over. Without pause, I swung my Gladius around again for a swipe across his waist. His bare skin offered no protection from the blade. The sword sliced through him like butter as his halved torso flopped to the ground.

He let out a low gurgle as he fell in pieces.

Behind me, two more drugged out maniacs jumped on my back. If I had not been in the armor, the attack would have surely caught me off guard. I felt the metal pipe wrap around my neck as the larger man yanked back. The other wild native grabbed my shoulder and repeatedly stabbed at my kidney. A makeshift stiletto slashed harmlessly against the ablative bi-weave of the Aegis. His strikes would have been certain death, but the suit could easily bear the blows of the large men. After a few stabs, the goon's blade snapped off at the hilt. A rear head butt with the armor sent the man with the pipe reeling back. I wheeled around and swung my blade to greet both men. A splash of red and two heads ran off tattooed shoulders. They landed on the floor with a thump.

A third painted ruffian ran at me at full speed. He screamed like a bird of prey as he charged down the corridor. There was madness in these people of Leng. Only now did I see the true evil of these people. I hoped and prayed none of the children I had seen would be sent to these depths with weapons in hand. As this man neared, through the glow of the chemical lights he saw the Aegis suit and my blade extended. He stopped dead in his tracks as he weighed the scene. I'd doubt he had seen a man in powered armor before. To him I must have looked like a green devil, especially with the drugs he was on. When he saw the pile of bodies and the stream of gore down the hallway, he bolted and ran.

As I looked down the black corridor to see him escape, I gave no chase. It helped my cause to let the man go. Reinforcements were exactly what I wanted.

Down below the lift, I imagined Johanna and Kali would soon be in prime shape to plant the charge on the portal and get out. Everything was going well, but time was pushing on. I hoped to have pulled a patrol from the portal room, but I did not see any sign of activity from the massive lift.

Patently, I waited for the signal round Johanna would send up the shaft. Hopefully, it wouldn't blow the whole methane ridden place up when it came.

Even with my new senses, I didn't know how the fusion grenade would react with the gasses in this place. I figured the short timer on the grenade was as good of a shot if any of blowing the thing up. it looked to be made of rock and metal. Whatever juices flowed toward the thing looked simple. Again, i hoped we wouldn't bring the whole plateau down in the process, but after all of this, I didn't really think about it much.

We would have to worry about Papa later. Vraeg, or whatever Johanna had called him. If he could survive being buried under hundreds of tons of rock, at a minimum it would still buy us some time. These guys didn't seem like the types to sneak off unnoticed.

I had put down a lot more natives than I had planned. Security was clearly beefed up. In the dark halls under the ruins of Leng, this was more resistance than I had expected. The traffic here was heavier than typical guard patrols. It was like all the fighters on the planet had emptied into the tunnels. As i thought about this, I estimated a couple things may have been at work. One, Fortunato and Papa had greatly beefed up patrols and security when I disappeared into the catacombs and the tiger broke into the facility. They were prepared for a counter attack or had more men on hand to locate me. The second possibility was much worse; the gate was about to open and some sort of large scale gathering was underway to greet the Dark Star.

As I thought about this, I became even more worried about Johanna.

The Aegis suit kept up nicely, I trudged along the long hall in the darkness, past crates of weapons, narcotics and ghastly body snatchers trapped in medical ampoules. The voices shouted in the distance. The lift was not far now. My night vision and body heat detection systems were in full effect. At every opportunity I would knock out the green chemical lights and plunge the place into darkness.

I looked at the odd rooms off the hallways.

As I trudged forward, I entered a room not far from the lift. Inside, the sound of machines and voices echoed. Chemical lights lit up the entryway to this room. White coats were hung with care on metal hooks outside. Protective suits sat next to them.

As I walked through the arch, rows of weird processing belts and production lines filled the room. Vats of caustic chemicals dotted the near walls. Crates of Omertan Gold, Narcotics and dark ampoules were strewn everywhere in between.

As I moved further in, a huge cauldron bubbled with some sort of black tar. It looked much like the evil creature Fortunato once tried to put inside my body, the _parasite_. But the dark goo did not have the life and vigor of that stuff. I could not sense the _Taint_ fully inside it yet, but it felt evil.

I knew this was some hollow form of the stuff awaiting the final processing to become that strange body snatcher. It needed to be destroyed.

Screams came from the production lines as I kicked over the glass pot.

The bowl crashed and slid over the stone floor.

Hapless Leng-ites who were clearly not fighters ran off into the dark with fearful screams as I walked forward into the drug lab. The black ooze smoked and hissed with heat as it spread everywhere.

Boxes of filled ampoules lined the wall beyond.

_Junk._

For all the talk of old gods and ancient evil magic, Fortunato and Papa were not much more than cosmic drug dealers. In addition to a gateway to the place _In- Between_, Leng appeared to also be a _giant drug lab. _Evidently, in addition the inevitable entropy of all, the _Dark Star_ meant to get the galaxy high on his enhanced smack.

_Truly, Fortunato and Papa were false prophets._

As I cleaned the gunk off of my suit's boot, I resumed my march down the great hallway.

Suddenly , I could see the top part of the great lift in my visor.

Four guards all stammered near the hydraulic door, a woman came forward with something long. it looked like a bow or launcher of some sort.

As I walked down the hall, the arrows flew into my chest and bounced off to the ground. None of the weapons were enough to harm me in the Aegis.

With grunts and battle cry, more guards came out from the shadows. There were dozens of them. They had planned a trap at the lift. Unfortunately for them, they had little knowledge of what a twenty year old powered armor set was capable of. As I grabbed one of the fallen spears with my off hand, I knew it was time to continue the lesson.

I ran to a sprint to close the gap. I raised the spear high over my head. I could not risk using my "Old Faithful" in this place.

A bolt jetted past my head as I neared the line.

The crossbow bolts probably had no shot of penetrating the suit, but it was possible. High quality metals like J'narr steel and molecular honed gear could breach these older suits. I had seen some J'narr weapons in Shar-Natha. Leng was not totally stuck in the stone age. They had so much UCF equipment stockpiled, the notion they had some sharper metal was not impossible.

The suit built up a full steam of locomotive speed as the boots clunked off the stone floor. I was easily moving as fast as the old clunky jeep Fortunato had brought me to Shar-Natha on.

I loosed the spear like a howitzer. The weapon shot out and through the tribesman and split through a pair of berzerkers.

I arrived at the group just as the woman was prepping another bolt. I shoved my fist full into the projectile and knocked it out of her hands. She sailed backward near the edge of the black pit. Another painted tribesman jumped on my arm as I swung out. I sliced into the warriors as they piled on top of me. One after another fell from the melee as I slashed like a madman.

By her long dark hair, I grabbed the same woman and forced her to the ground. I looked into her eyes as they swirled with mad was no human in those eyes, she was a crazed creature of the Dark Star now. Her hair flared as she stabbed out with a knife and slashed a metal portion of my suit. As metal on metal sparked, the air ignited. The moment froze briefly in time, she gave a perplexed look on her face right before the sound of rushing air exploded.

There was no dramatic theatrics or fireball, just a quick blue flash and a hard pop as I went flying backward. The force was impressive. For a second, the ground shook and felt like jelly. In the Aegis, I was unharmed.

Evidently, the ventilated air near the lift and the high ceilings had prevented a complete disaster. The explosion was small and manageable. Black carbon and crusted gore covered the front of my breastplate and visor. I wiped the mess off my eyes.

As I sprung back up to my feet several meters across the great room, I looked at the pile of burned and maimed bodies of the tribesman who guarded the lift. Their bodies were spun together like a sick Jovian art exhibit.

I still hadn't pulled any security groups from the lift and the great room below. More time had passed.

I knew know, my plan was not working. If there was a crowd down there or the lower tunnels were beefed up with security, then I had not thinned the guards where we needed to. My "distraction" had proven ineffective. Like any good plan, Murphy's Law was in full effect. The worst possible outcome was here. It was time to reevaluate the plan.

The the throng emerged.

In the sea of crazed maniacs, one man strut forward with the presence of a leader.

Fortunato.

The tunnel beyond was filled with screaming men and woman as Fortunato stalked down the hall. In his hand, he held the huge J'narr spear he had impaled me with.

Over the animalistic screams I heard his voice.

"Hey, mon." He yelled. "'Bout time you show back up!"

The painted warriors behind him screamed and shouted with blood lust.

Fortunato shoved his spear in front of the line as he held the mob up before me. All was quite as Fortunato looked at me with his dark blotchy eyes. In his mouth, a rotten weed hung from his lips.

Next to him, one of the warriors with a shaved head and leather coat got impatient and lowered a small caliber pistol my way. Fortunato didn't have time to shout a curse at the idiot before he squeezed off a round. His whole hand exploded.

I could hear his screams right away.

Even though the shooter was sloppy, the pistol round hit home. The metal bullet mushroomed flat on my breastplate with a click. It stuck like glue to my armor. I swatted the clump off the front of my armor as the crazed tribesman grabbed his missing arm and screamed off into the shadows.

"Zuba , Malik, go get dat guy now!" Fortunato shouted.

Two wild men ran forward screaming with metal axes in their hands.

With a few quick moves, I sent them both flying into the black pit behind me. They never stopped their screams as the fell into the black.

Fortunato lashed out with the spear. I whirled to dodge the blow as one of the wild tribesmen lept from the darkness. The Gladius met him in the air and split open his side. He buckled over and cursed at the floor. As he backed off, he screamed

Fortunato sent another wave of guinea pigs after me. Two more berserkers with swords and shaved heads. Warriors.

The huge throng of people shouted and hollered as another battle ensued.

I ran to meet them just like the others. One of them managed to meet my blade as I sliced his off at the hilt. He screeched as I took part of his finger with it. The second attacker lashed down at my throat with his blade. He sliced down as the blade bounced off. It was a solid hit though and caught me off balance.

As I spun awkwardly in the wrong direction. I grabbed the back of his head and threw him off toward the back side of the lift. He sailed off into the black darkness with a deathly scream. His friend grabbed his hand and ran off into one of the tunnels .

"Fool" Fortunato said.

He jabbed at me with his spear. I tried to move , but took a shot to the leg. The J'narr blade sliced a rut on the side of the ablative shielding.

As I spun around, both of my fists crashed down on Fortunato's weapon. The spear shattered with a loud crash. Fortunato backed off as he held his kidney. He spit at me as he walked away.

"Push dat fool off da' damn edge." Fortunato said as he backed away.

Now, the great mass of tribesmen rushed me. Instead of stab and slash they pushed and shoved. The weight drove me toward the black expanse of the gulf beyond. As they pushed, some fell over and into the dark. hundreds of them piled up as they trampled each other to get at me. I caught an edge in the stone floor and dug in as they grunted. The weight was too much for the knees creaked and snapped with over exertion.

With concentration, I adjusted the toggle in my gauntlet and aimed my arm at the lift's metal bulwark. More tribesman pushed themselves off the cliff as I squiremed away from the clutching hands. As i activated the grappling hook, the Gladius shifted and a smaller case rotated into position. As i aimed for the girders, the wires shot out into the rusted steel beams over my head. The hooks shot out and connected with the target.

With a crank, I went flying to the frame of the lift.

For a moment I was able to perch on the metal and assess the scene. The horror on Leng never stopped.

On the ledge, the tribesman had committed far too enthusiastically to my demise. dozens of them fell over the side and down into the darkness below. Screams and the sounds of madness ripped through the depths as they fell to their depths.

I worried many of them could fall on Johanna or Kali. I had sent so many over the side by now. Whatever, was going on hundreds of feet below me in the portal room, I had to think at this point the plan was shot.

In the further reaches of the lift room, I saw Fortunato curse and order more men to attack. He pointed at me as I sat perched on the lift. Occasionally, an arrow or spear came in my direction, but the acts were futile. With nothing left to do but save the whole plan, I lept into the dark and down the metal frame. The guide wires zipped past me as I controlled my descent.

The devil once said pure spite was the sweetest nectar. As much as I wanted to finish him off, there were larger concerns. Fortunato would have to wait.

As I looked back one last time, the last thing I saw was Fortunato as he grabbed his bloody side and screamed.


	26. Chapter 26

**As my guide wire reached the end, I set down on the last metal pylon. The chemical lights below were dim, but with some effort I let go and dropped down into the portal room.**

**The Aegis feet clunked down on the stone floor. It was around a thirty foot drop, but the suit handled the fall with ease. Around me were some of the crushed tribesmen who had fallen from the room above.**

**What I saw at the beyond the mess, was certainly not what I had expected.**

**Everything was fuzzy, space time felt bent all around me. I lifted my hand and felt my fingers. Everything moved so slow. Deep inside, I had the feeling that someone had been waiting for me.**

**Instantly, I knew the plan had totally gone to total shit. ****_Always does._**** I had just jumped into a trap of fatal proportion.**

**There were pools of blood everywhere. I swore it was****_ raining_**** inside the cave. Drops of liquid were suspended in the air in front of me. Sometimes, it felt like the drops were coming from the floor. I couldn't tell if the liquid was blood or water. The whole place was a complete mess.**

**The air was solid. Everything was frozen in an underwater sea of dark cloudy murk.**

**My radio rang with static hissing in my ear. Voices pounded my head. Screams echoed in my mind. Time was off.**

**The stone room was a meat grinder.****_ The great room was a massacre scene. Blood and gore were everywhere. Smashed crates and rubble were suspended in the air._**

**Body parts and blood floated in the air like time remained still. Pieces of guards and weapons floated around me. ****_What the hell?_**

**The drums were pounding in the air. Jesus, I was so tired of that noise. ****_Was it some sort of hallucination?_**** Slowly the thumping built up speed. The thunder pulsed with power through the air. The molecules around me thumped with the beat. I could see the sound travel in waves.**

**Papa stood over all. His fat stomach hung over his belt.**

**Here was the ****_Precursor of the Dark Sta_****r. The thing Johanna called the ****_Vraeg._**

**I could not tell if he was floating in the air. He might as well have been. His body had changed into a monstrous form. Dark Robes flowed from him like seaweed under the ocean. His legs looked like an insect. His body was part human and part lobster. I could swear there were echoes of an octopus or cuttlefish in his anatomy, but it was so hard to tell. The form seemed to shift between grotesque mélange and human.**

**He looked directly at me and smiled. His voice was no longer the accented tribesman. He sounded like a legion of beings. Insect buzzing hummed in the back of his tone.**

**"We have been waiting for you, Fredrick Montressor." Papa said to me. His eyes were pure black seas of oil. He was under the full effect of whatever was inside him. This was just as Johanna had said, Papa was the ****_Vroggan_****, the****_ Precursor _****of the Dark Star. He had come to pave the way for his master. He was a part of the Dark Star. They were one.**

**He drooled black tar from his mouth as he spoke.**

**From his back, were several bony dark tentacles that wrapped and crusted in the air. The ends were like stiletto blades. I could feel the taint drip from the slimy tubes as they whipped about slowly, as if suspended in water. In some ways, the tentacles looked like the massive tendrils of the creek monster I had encountered before. But, like Papa, the structure of them shifted between dark edged bones and soft mollusk like tubular structure.**

**Papa's spine bulged with monstrous spikes and strange protuberances. They set in the air like a stack of sharp spears.**

**One of the tendrils was meters long as it gracefully swirled in the air. At the end of the gruesome appendage was an even more horrific sight; its cartilaginous shape spun softly and wrapped around the crushed neck of Johann, my red haired Kalish girl. Her lifeless body hung like a child's doll from the end of the stalk.**

**The carnage was worse. In a pile before Papa, was the mutilated form of the Kali. She had no head. A massive pool of red blood lay around the blkue fir of the beast.**

**I struggled to maintain myself. Anger filled every once of my being. As I looked at papa's hand, the heavy object he held was gruesome.**

**The blood dripped into the air. My suit gave no indication anything was wrong.**

**Behind him, the black gate glowed with malignant energy. I could feel the power as the waves curled and the surface vibrated with energy. It was nearly time now.**

**_No_****.. I thought in my head. ****_This can't be real._**

**Papa's laugh sickened me.**

**"What is the problem my dear Montressor?" Papa asked "Does this not please you?"**

**His words softened something inside me. I felt the comfort of the warm bath water. It was like the peace I felt beyond the gate, the place in-between. The Dark Star was beyond, he was nearly here!**

**Papa kept laughing. I could hear an echo of a hundred other voices in his tone.**

**"Death? Destruction? Violence? Are you a stranger to these things?" He asked. "Even you must know now, you were selected by my master for a reason. He knows you. You can't escape what you are."**

**He waved his finger at me.**

**"You are a monster. You are destruction. Together we can destroy it all. The UCF fools who wouldn't promote you. The false friends back at home. The crazed religious fools and their zealotry. We can cleanse them all. We can start over. My master is a creator as well. He will remake everything."**

**"All will serve him, regardless. You can do so willingly, or as a meager thrall." Papa said as he paced back and forth. I still could not tell if he was floating."There is a special place by his side for those who choose to serve."**

**"What makes you think I would choose? Your goddamn crazy!" I asked.**

**"I know you have seen it. I know you felt the warmth. He is ready to make you his overlord." Papa replied.**

**"Fredrick Montressor..we need you!" Papa said as he motioned me. He pointed back to the dark portal beyond his body. He stood right in front of the gate. "He needs you." Papa pled. "Is it not important to be wanted?"**

**"Even to him, waiting in the place beyond, you are not forgotten, Montressor." I told, you, he has seen your deeds. That is why you are here!"**

**The words felt like comfort. Papa was my friend. The water was warm. The Dark Star needed me. Had I heard that before? No. The UCF did not need me. Not anymore. Had I heard that before? Dammit, I knew I had.. where was it?**

**The drums picked up. My ears pounded with the static of the radio in the background.**

**I looked at Johanna's bloody corpse as it floated in the air.**

**"I don't know" I said. I went to my knees and put my hands on the floor. I felt broken.**

**"Are these the words and thoughts of the Razor of Kull-Ghu?"**

**There it was. That was it.**

**He knows. I know. It was at Kull-Ghu.**

**"There were seven thousand colonists on Kull-Ghu, Montressor. Families. Does their death haunt your dreams?"**

**"No." I said.**

**Papa kept laughing. I was getting mad.**

**_"_****Your wrong. I know it does. I see you when you sleep. I see you scream in the night." He said****_._**

**I shook my head.****_ He knows._**

**"No, that's not me, that part of me died." I said.**

**In turn, Papa shook his head. He smiled as the black oil rushed from his teeth.**

**"Have you not learned from his gift? There is no such thing as death." he said as he laughed. He motioned to Kali. " Whatever these bitches told you, this is the real lie! ****_With strange Aeons Even death may die_****, right?. These are the sacred words, Montressor. Death is an illusion. We need only open our eyes.**

**"The Dark Star is the answer. You were always so good at your job, ruthless. You enjoyed it. Right?" Papa asked.**

**"That's not true, we had no choice! Those damn J'narr would have hit the back side of the empire. They would have ripped apart Thule and had a clean path to a hundred other colonies. They snuck through the back door. We had to do what we did. It needed to be done. Millions would have died." I yelled.**

**Papa smiled again, "Ah he likes your fire, Colonel, your emotion. I know you took no pleasure in the act. Not Kull-Ghu. Its why you prefer a blade and your feet on the ground. That is pleasure. Pressing a button and killing thousands was so much more terrifying than to take your blade and kill one. You want to see their eyes as you take their lives. You want to see the faces. You didn't get that on Kull-Ghu, did you?"**

**_"_****Goddamn, you son of a bitch." I yelled.**

**_"_****There were ..children there Colonol? Young ones?." He asked.**

**I grit my teeth.**

**"What about you goddamn Leng? I saw children up there in Sahr-Natha. Your no better." I responded.**

**Papa looked at me with a stern face.**

**"There were eight hundred and ninety three children on Kull-Ghu, Montressor. Did you know that? They saw the flash as the bombs dropped. I saw their faces, my friend. I watched them for you."**

**Papa's smile was like horror.**

**I crumpled down to my knees as I thought about his words. I could see the damn faces of those children.**

**"Jesus" I said. "There was no other way. A second more hesitation and we would have been dead. It was a whole damn legion. They would have killed everyone."**

**Papa reached up his arms.**

**"Your right Montressor...your right...my master knows this." Papa replied. "As I said, he would make you general. You would be a lord...and what did your masters do to you?" Papa asked.**

**I said nothing as I looked down.**

**"They sent you home? " He asked.**

**"The war was over." I mumbled.**

**Papa frowned and changed to a sympathetic tone.**

**"They sent you home , Montressor. You were fired. You gave them your life and they sent you home to be a relic in a museum. All while they reshaped the universe, without you. All the pain and memories. They threw those on your shoulders. All the dreams of horror wondering what all those colonists thought before they died. Their faces..all of that as your reward. And they fire you? What was it they said, they didn't 'need you' anymore?" Papa asked as he smirked.**

**The voice came into my head without Papa moving his lips.**

**_You should crush them._**

**_This is what you are good at Montressor. This is what you are. The Razor Kull-Ghu. It is an honor. It will be your new name._**

**_"_****No, I've changed." I said.**

**"Hahaha! People like us cannot change. I feel the conflict. It is touching." Papa said as he laughed some more.**

**"These people, they were my friends, you killed them." I said.**

**_"_****Your friends? you hardly even knew them! A tiger you came to kill? A bitch mongrel who claims to be a goddess? A god of death? Ha, look at her now" Papa held up the massive cat head to his face. He looked the beast directly in the eye." A goddess of death, ha! Who is the false god now?"Papa belted out maddening laughter. "It looks like your hunt is over Colonel."**

**With a heave, he threw the head off into the room. It floated through the void and spun in the air. The eyes were cold and lifeless.**

**"Proof enough my master is overlord? Even death may die! See,it is true!" He screamed in laughter at the irony of his words.**

**_I felt my muscles surge with energy. I felt my mind clear. Those were my friends._**

**_"_****You feel something for this one?" He jiggled the body of Johanna at the end of his tentacle."Love? Affection? Oh Colonol, who are you kidding. She is just as false.**

**A weak woman who has told you nothing but lies?"**

**_Did she even tell you who she works for?_**

**_"_****What?" I asked.**

**"Did she tell you how your people are caged like animals in space while other species plot your extinction?" Papa puffed out his chest. "The rest of the universe thinks you are a disease to be quarantined. That is exactly where you live now. In a test tube."**

**"The Traveler created you, Fredrick. You pathetic humans came from the void to serve. Now you deny your master?" He said as spittle shot from his mouth.**

**"What are you talking about?" I asked.**

**"There is more, Fredrick Montressor, It is never ..."**

**I tuned out Papa's voice as he kept rambling about his god and religion.**

**I looked into the dead eyes of the tiger.**

**_Kali._**

In her eyes, a blue light flashed to me in the sea of chaos. It was only a sparkle.

I remembered the words of my red haired woman. The eclipse was always false. The only thing real was the light of the corona. The fabric of light even a dark star could not hide.

My head felt light as things shifted.

For a moment, I caught the smell of black pepper. What was in my head? I heard the gentle sound of the sitar as the vision of swords flashed in my head.

In front of me, Papa rambled on before the dark portal.

Suddenly, it was all clear.

I looked at the HUD on the Aegis. Carefully, I flipped the toggle on my gauntlet. The gladius blade extended again with a sliding click. The purple metal flashed another glimmer of light in the dark.

Weird voices screamed out to me.

This was enough.

In the fog of whatever Papa though he was doing to my brain, I saw through the haze. _This was all false_.

This was all wrong.

Somehow in the haze, I stepped forward. As I did, the words of my mother came to me.

"Push him in!" she said to me.

With another step, I slogged through the thick air. It was like walking underwater. With effort, my head lowered and I pushed my legs with all my strength. The suit groaned and barreled forward.

Papa's eyes were fixed on the woman in the air. He was in full oration mode as he pontificated like some black pope. His tendrils lashed as he spoke.

His mouth was moving and speaking to me but I could not here.

The way was open.

Johanna had been right. Papa couldn't die. Not here, not by us. He was too powerful. Even the bomb would not kill him. There was only one way. The words I heard in my dream. My mother told me all those years ago.

The suit closed the distance quicker than it seemed. Everything was off. Time and space was still all wrong. The static from the radio screamed in my head.

_I grabbed Papa under the armpit and kept moving.I could not see the reaction in his face as I dug my metal fingers into him. As I did, his body was caught off guard by my force. The thrashing tentacles slapped at my suit as I picked him up._

_I brought the Gladius down on the tentacle that held Johanna's limp body. Surprisingly, the blade passed through and severed the cord as black blood sputtered into the aether._

_We were only a few steps away from the gate._

_As We passed through, i felt the immediate sensation of the warm bath. The peace of nothingness numbed my brain._

_My head dipped into the portal as I released Papa beyond the membrane of hell._

_But there was no peace inside._

_The noise was not the warm bath water I once felt. Now, it was a pool of pure violence. It was like being alive in a vacuum. Rushing horror and madness were all around me. _

_The reason and logic of Papa's words seemed so hallow in this tempest of air. My ears felt like they would burst even through the Aegis. My HUD flickered with static as I felt the seals strain. Even this suit, was not meant for this._

_I was suspended in pure insanity in the breach. Madness._

_Papa spoke as I released him into the darkness._

_"You are lost!" He screamed " Fool! He would have made you a king!"_

_I could see papa fling off into the black haze of nothing. His tendrils thrashed about as I heard him scream. His face was anger. He flicked in the shadows . I could not tell what shape he was as he twisted into different forms and dark colors. For a moment, his form congealed into something like a large lobster. Suddenly, it was a giant Squid. I could not tell as it shifted back and forth._

_I felt the darkness pull. The place wanted me as well._

_The Dark Star was so close now._

_I could see it coming. The mass. It was bigger than a planet. It was so close now. Almost here. All would be forgiven. _

_It whispered to me in the dark. _

_As I looked at Papa float away, his form merged with the celestial horror as he rejoined his master. It blended softly at first, shifting form and spines. Soon, his shape and angry face grew into another shooting protuberance of the shifting leviathan._

_I felt the hatred again. The noise was so loud._

_He laughed at me. They both did._

_I could see Kull-Ghu._

_"Montressor, we need you!" The voices screamed in the black form of the Dark Star. They were the voices of children. "Only you can save us!"_

_As I looked into the dark eyes of the god from beyond the veil._

_My memories faded to the past._


	27. Chapter 27

In the choppy madness of _The Place In-Between_, the Dark Star shifted as he watched the image of my past.

It was the war again.

We laughed on the ship as we talked about our new assignment. I drank a beer as we relaxed. My legs were up on the terminal. My beard was thick with neglect.

I was Captain Montressor then, we had just wrapped up Sirius III, as a matter of fact. It had been one of the worst experiences any of us had in the war. We were all tired. The team had a bad case of jungle rot and sick memories. My commander told me our new destination was basically a "rear d" cupcake assignment. No actual combat was expected.

What we got instead, was a ticket to _Kull-Ghu_.

Like this place Leng, Kull-Ghu was a dim star system. It was a couple light years from Procyon. In Kull's case, a Red Dwarf job that could take forever to find on the nav. map. The system only had two planets. A single gas giant with a couple of dead moons and the crown jewel farming planet they called Kull-Ghu.

I don't know how the place got its name. I think whoever discovered it was Mongolian or something. I never asked.

The mission was clear; Respond to the reports of a _potential_ attack on the farming colony, bolster the planets defense and organize a viable militia for planetary resistance.

I don't think command expected much from us. For a UCF Special Forces A-Team, the assignment was about as routine as you could get.

Kull –Ghu was on the backside of nowhere. The place was a safe distance away from the front, on the back side of the Rim. It was supposed to be a break for my guys. After Sirius III, we all deserved it.

For all we knew, Kull-Ghu was the opposite side of the universe, the side where the war wasn't.

Kull-Ghu had shaped itself into a nice planet and colony. The place had just finished a four hundred year terraforming cycle and was ready for colonists,"The boom period" they usually called it. Ninety thousand folks eventually showed up and were spread out over three decent sized population zones. It was on its way to becoming an important Rim world. It had a future.

When the war broke out, the colonists slowed down. Kull-Ghu became a pleasant backwater 's development was put on pause.

That's when we showed up.

The damn J'narr weren't supposed to already be there.

As we neared the system, I knew something was wrong when we ran into hostile patrols outside Procyon. _What the fuck where they doing this far from the front?_ We managed to slip past 'em, but it wasn't a good sign.

When we broke through to Kull-Ghu, the place was in bad shape. The defense platform was obliterated. J'narr ships were everywhere. A goddamn J'narr carrier was in low orbit. The planet was already infested. Two of the three cities were gone.

As we looked for any signs of human life, we found most of the colonists were held up in one of the last cities, I can't even remember the damn name. There were only a few thousand of them left. They must have been through hell. Most of them were starving or wounded. The place hardly had any weapons at all. I think they were throwing potatoes at the bastards near the end.

When I sent down a communication, I must have seemed like Santa Clause to the base commander. He was so happy to hear our voices and see a friendly face. Albright his name was. I won"t ever forget it. I think he had been some police officer before. He wasn't a soldier. But he died one.

Albright really thought we were the cavalry come to save the day. But it wasn't Christmas.

We were not in any position to save anyone.

When I told them we were only an SF runner with a crew of fourteen operatives, his heart sunk. There were over a hundred thousand J'narr on Kull-Ghu. The planet was lost.

When I told them there was nothing I could do, he begged me to rescue them. I can still see his face. He told me about the children and the families.

I had to tell him no. I couldn't even look him in the eye. Then he got mad.

Radio comms. were jammed outside the system. I couldn't get anything to command. Even If I could, there wouldn't have been time. Those J'narr were going to hit Earth next and nothing would have stopped them. They snuck in the back door and we were the only thing in their way.

No way I could let those J'narr down there just hop on to the next colony. The opportunity to take out one hundred thousand Black Marines and a carrier was too important to pass up.

I did what I had to do.

"We need you" The commander said. "We're lost without you" he said to me. Yet again, I can never forget his face as I cut the radio signal and went dark.

We pulled up into the atmosphere and prepped our payload. The J'narr had no clue what was coming. Seven Tactical Fusion bombs was enough. As I looked down at the J'narr onslaught we dropped our bombs and bugged out. It only took a few seconds. I pressed the button.

From space, the black mushroom clouds merged with the blue green lakes and white clouds. The yellow and red flashes popped all around from space. The whole thing went black. In a sick way, part of me thought it was beautiful. Every living thing on Kull-Ghu was dead. Terraformed worlds have sensitive ecosystems. The salvo was enough to kill the whole world.

What was left of the J'narr invasion force came looking for us.

Our ship was fast for a small cruiser. It was a retro fitted with twin ion drives and the payload of a heavy destroyer. The J'narr chased us for a while. A few Destroyers and some fighters were all that was left. We led them around the system and eventually ditched 'em.

The UCFV _Razor_ my ship was called. The J'narr remembered. They remembered me as well. _The Razor of Kull-Ghu_.

Since that day, I always think about every single colonist still left on that place when it blew. I think of the kids the most. I knew there blood was on my hands.

I never made any claims it wasn't.

In my sleep, I can never make out their faces. I never saw them, I just pushed a button and they were gone.

I just heard the damn voices tell me they "needed me". I hear the commander's voice as he got angry. Albright's voice. Kids voices. I see my mother too. She always looks at me like I'm a disappointment. That comes after. Its always the last thing I see.

Then I look at myself in the mirror. I'm a monster.

I heard it in my dreams every night since.

I don't sleep much.

If death isn't real, so be it, _but I know Kull-Ghu was._

The vacuum ripped my ears as I felt my soul back in the void.

The dark voice came into my head..was it Papa?

_"What they didn't tell you was Kull-Ghu won the war. The J'narr quit because of you, Montressor. That was the last gasp, and you stopped them..and yet they sent you home? They told you you had done a good job, but they said you would have no future with the UCF? 'To drastic and controversial a figure for general command', your evaluation said...the fools!"_

I could see my father and mother. There was a boy who sat in his headmasters office waiting to hear the news.

_"You can't escape what you are , Montressor." The voice said._

The hopelessness sunk in. Suddenly, my suit's warning lights flashed. A breach was eminent. With everyone dead, there was nothing left. I let myself drift into the void.

The drums.

The mandolin.

Finally, the twang of the sitar.

Then, when everything was lost, I felt the hand grab me from behind.


	28. Chapter 28

"Whoa..lost you there, big guy" Johanna said as she kneeled down next to me.

My suit steamed with smoke as I pushed myself up from the ground.

In a flash, She quickly unholstered her duel Golivian blasters and turned to shoot two rounds of yellow energy into an oncoming headhunter. He screamed as he bent over. The room seemed clear of tribesmen as the tiger lept at the throat of a fleeing crazed woman priest in a black robe.

"My blasters don't seem to mind the gas." She said as she frowned in sarcasm.

Kali moved behind me and purred . She had a mangled tribesmen in her mouth and carried him around like a puppy.

The cat was limping as she ducked her head. Her fur was matted as the blood dripped on the stone.

"She's been sliced by your fat friend there." Johanna said." We need to get her out of here."

"What the hell happened?" I asked.

"You're asking me that?" Johanna asked.

"Yeah, I thought you both were dead." I said. There was no need to get too graphic with the story.

"I don't know. Something like; you dropped down with your new duds all covered in blood. You spaced out and looked lost while we fought endless waves of homicidal maniacs. Then, you bum rushed the old fat guy, pushed him in to your 'dark portal to another dimension' and I pulled you out of there." She said as she wiped a smear of blood off her face. There were dead tribesman everywhere. "That should about describe it"

"Jesus, I must have been under some spell" I replied.

"But I'm glad you decided to drop in when you did, things got a bit harry there." She said.

"Set the damn charge, now!" I said. "Give the fuse thirty seconds."

"Is that enough time? You said a city block right?" Johanna asked as she placed the grenade in the lattice work below the portal.

"Do it." I said."Now"

"Kali! Let's go!" The tiger turned and looked and followed me close. She limped towards me as the blue light in her eyes sparkled.

Johanna hit the switch and the light blinked red. Suddenly, it switched to a solid red and gave a tone.

"Move!" I yelled as I bounded toward the tunnel that led to the sewer.

Even as I ran, my heart settled, I was so relieved Johanna and Kali were still alive. Papa had given me some sort of psychotropic hallucination back there. I was lucky things didn't end worse. He misjudged me in the end. I wasn't going to be anyone's fool.

It was his last mistake.

I wondered if I was a liability. I wondered if the _Dark Star_ had some sort of sick sway over me. Maybe Papa was right. Maybe I was just a monster under it all.

I turned my head and looked at Johanna as we ran. Even in the suit, she kept up with me as we bounded down the narrow tunnels. As her red hair flopped around, I realized she was something special.

We had just reached past the same decorative confluence where I "died" before, when the bang sent us all flying. The dark aqueduct lit up with the blue flame of disaster and the entire place started to come down.

After the initial bang, we ran through about four tunnels till the flames died down behind us. You could hear sections of the old network igniting and collapsing. We had a few close calls. Then came the worse noise, you could feel the rumble and shaking of huge sections of earth moving. It felt deep and concerning.

We ran as fast as our legs could go.

I had to help Kali a few times, but she hung in there.

"I think we may have bit off more than we can chew?" I asked the tiger as I pushed her up one series of tubes.

The tiger roared as we ran off into the muddy darkness.

We pushed through the last curve in the dark sewer before the path turned uphill. Ahead, I could make out the light of the Johanna's hideaway. _At last_, I thought. It was great to be out of the damned sewers and tunnels of that place. I did not want to have been buried there.

But the whole of Leng was still falling apart.

"I don't see where this get's us, this whole place might blow at any second." I said.

The tiger was slumping over as I tried to give her a push up to the room. Her blood smeared all over the front of the armor as she stepped through the door..

"Relax, Montressor, I told you I knew what I was doing. Trust me." Johanna said as she grabbed some gear.

We stopped for only a second in the chambers. I took some supplies from the lab and set a butterfly bandage on Kali's wound. it was small, but the bandage managed to close up at least a portion of her wound. She groaned in pain as the fastener clamped down.

Johanna rubbed the tiger on her brow as the beast grumbled.

"That should help, but she's not good." I said. "She needs surgery"

The tiger roared and got up on all fours. Without hesitation she bounded out toward the cliff.

"She seems to disagree" Johanna said.

All of us barreled down the narrow passage as we pushed out to the cliff. I noticed the carvings and figures of the naked warriors as we walked by. It was a shame such magnificent images would be lost again to time. Perhaps they would survive.

As we stood on the edge of the world, the wind was howling. The birds were amok with panic as they flew about. The jungle beyond was a cacophony of the sound of fear.

Beyond the horizon, the dim red sun and clouds swirled in the same rich blend of cherry, green and brown. The sight made me thirsty again for a drink.

Behind me, I could hear explosions and rumbling from deep within the plateau. It was just like my dream.

As I looked down the cliff, chunks of basalt were falling off as the ground shook. "This goddam thing is coming down." I yelled, "What was your plan? To jump for it?"

Johanna looked at me with a devilish smile. There was blood smeared across her face. _A woman of the Red Tribe._

"Why, yes, old man, it was." She shouted.

Johanna let out a crazy Kalish battle cry she jumped in to the abyss below. With a battle cry, she disappeared into the brown haze.

Kali next limped forward and eased down into nothingness.

They both vanished as I stood on the edge of the cliff in amazed disbelief. _What the heck?_

I was about to jump as well when the sound of destruction increased to a thunder.

The rumble started as the ground shook even more.

A blinding flash of ion drives sent me to the ground as the small space craft hurled up to the level of my cliff.

The small corvette utility craft lowered itself close to me. The ship was a "puddle jumper". A small ship mostly used to jet between moons. The thing wasn't going to get us far, but it would get us the hell out of here. The rear bay doors dropped down and the ramp hovered above my stunned body.

"Let's get the hell out of here." The voice said over the PA system.

As I leapt out into the sky of Leng, my feet landed the metal pad with a "clank".

The ship jostled a bit as I hit. The small corvette was not large, more like a supply closet on wings.

I stuffed myself between the tiger and some cargo bins as I slumped into the ship. Behind me, the ramp closed and hissed with a hydraulic puff of steam.

"Could your ship be any smaller?" I asked. The tiger growled at me as we both fought for space.

"Beggers can't be choosey?" She replied.

"This thing looks like it was put together with glue and band aids." I said.

I flipped a toggle in my suit and reduced the nano reactive armor in my helmet.

Fresh air from the ship pumped into the cabin.

"Yeah, maybe.. but its got a great stealth drive and it tucks in to tight spots real nice." She said.

I tapped Kali on the back to keep her awake. She gave a groan as I rubbed her back.

On the floor, I saw the pool of red blood. The tiger was still bleeding, only slower now.

As the ship banked hard, I reached into the med box on the wall of the fuselage and pulled out a small pouch of anti-coagulant powder.

As the ship threw me about, I broke the tab and rubbed the solvent all over the tiger's wound. She hissed at me and slumped over.

"I think she'll be ok." I said.

Johanna looked back and nodded. She sat at the single seat in the cock pit and worked the controls. I could see her wipe the sweat and blood from her face as she focused on escape. The inertial dampeners finally kicked in as she blasted up into the atmosphere.

"Careful, they may have some missiles still in place. Wouldn't surprise me. I saw some J'narr tanks down there." I said.

"Look for yourself" She said as we hovered high above the plateau. I could see the panicked outline of Shar-Natha in the distance. Huge chunks of the jungle were imploding into the depths. Dust clouds of falling stone billowed from the land. "The place is falling apart."

For a second, I thought of the people and children I had seen in the capitol.

"Its still a shame, I wonder if all the people in Shar-Natha were truly evil?" I asked her. "Dark Star or not, it sucks."

"I wouldn't write them off." Johanna said. "Leng is an old place. Like I said, it was here before either of us were around."

As if the sum of all fears had just become real, the red buttons on Johanna's HUD flashed with caution lights. Both of us jumped.

"SAMs?" I asked

"No..dammit, its another ship!" She shouted as we dipped down toward the planet. A black speck twitched from beyond the clouds.

The secondary warning flashed.

Red laser blasts pelted the clouds around us. Johanna grunted at the controls, as the ship barrel rolled to avoid the spray.

I had seen only one ship on Leng before this, it was the dark smuggling vessel _The Night Gaunt_, the flagship of the man who brought me here, Fortunato and his gang of dark rogues.

"Hold on you two!" She shouted as a laser blast nailed the small wing sub section. The wing briefly smoked then extinguished itself.

The ship hurtled down underneath the cloud layer and below the plateau.

"I'm gonna try to lose him down low." She shouted. "But first, we are going up."

Kali put her heard down and moaned.

The ship banked hard and looped in the air. The inertial dampeners behind me smoked as the craft pulled hard G's in the atmosphere.

"Careful" I said. "This ship isn't cut out for this, Johanna" I said. The hull creaked as I said the this. I thought I heard a rivet or two pop.

Johanna said nothing as she focused on the climb.

As she pushed the craft up, I caught another glimpse of the black ship as it tailed us. The attacker was unmistakably _The Night Gaunt_.

"Goddamn, that's Fortunato. I should have killed that bastard when I had the chance." I growled to myself.

I thought of him laughing as he chased us, no doubt high and with a pungent weed stalk hanging from his mouth.

As the ship met the apex of her climb, Johanna put all her strength into a downward jolt. The nose of the ship ducked down and the ship careened back to the surface like a runaway comet.

"Here we go." She said.

The dampeners were sizzling with smoke and electricity the hull vibrated with tension. The inertial cancelling devices would overheat soon if Johanna didn't let up. As somebody who had spent a good amount of time riding in deathtraps, I knew the worst part was yet to come.

"Strap in both of you." She said.

I fastened the restraint lines around the girth of the tiger. Again, I rustled her to keep her eyes open.

The ship pushed hard toward the surface. Clouds split in two as it rumbled and dropped like a stone. We passed by the distant plateau in a flash, I could barely see it. The deep clouds rocked us back and forth and the land disappeared from my view.

On the control panel, red lights came on again. This time a different warning tone chimed.

"Oh, shit!" She said.

"What?" I asked as I grabbed two beams in the fuselage to brace myself.

"I can do this" Johanna said as we fell from the sky at blinding speed. She dripped with sweat as she frantically worked the ship's controls. "It's a launch." She added. "Ship to ship missile"

"Goddamn it." I whispered under my breath.

Johanna clicked the panel and looked at a 3-D schematic of an incoming warhead.

'Yep, its a nuke." She replied."The ship has broke off."

The terminal screamed. The dampeners stunk of burning wires and metal.

As we dropped further down, rain pounded the windshield of the ship. Beyond the distant clouds, thunder and lightning crashed in the depths.

The caution lights came on again near the terminal. The ship's speed was well above specifications. The craft was about to fall apart.

I grabbed the side of the wall and put myself over Kali.

"Its too damn fast, launching countermeasures" Johanna said as she slapped the terminal.

Outside, the flash was quick and intense.

The ship careened through the clouds as we waited with our stomachs in our butts.

The larger flash finally came. It swallowed the weak light and lit up the whole sea of dark clouds around us.

Behind us the nuclear device detonated in a concise blast.

The sound wave caught up with us a second later. Even through my helm the noise was ear breaking.

Kali twitched and grunted as she took a deep breath. She was exhausted.

Johanna had avoided the missile. But the shock wave was another matter.

The ship tumbled all around as the dampeners finally puffed out into smoke and fire. The ship convulsed into an super advanced salt shaker as we tumbled through the air.

"I can level this off, hold on!" Johanna screamed as

"Were going to crash." Was the last thing I heard my Kalish girl say as I saw the oncoming rush of water and ground.


	29. Chapter 29

_The Taint_, I could feel it through the clouds. With a sick feeling, I could feel it coming for me again.

In a bed of green muck, I sat. The ship smoldered about twenty meters away.

I had been thrown several meters from the wreck when she crashed. As I jerked to get up, I realized I could not move either one of my legs. I slumped down again into the green goo.

Rain pounded against my visor. The air was thick with haze . My suit indicated the pressure outside was high, but not he crushing depths Papa had mentioned.

There were huge puddles and small ponds all around. A sea of rocky tidal flats lay around me. Small crawlers and jelly like scuttlers were the only life around me. Leng's lowlands were a much different place than the dense horror above.

The wind rushed as I felt the clouds swirl. A storm approached.

As the distant thunder rumbled closer, somehow, I managed to hear the noise of ship's engines above the racket.

I could feel Fortunato and the Tainted parasite in his body. He was close.

_The Night Gaunt's_ outline dropped through the clouds across the water. With a crash, the dark craft touched down across a stretch of rocky ankle deep water.

As the door dropped in the rear cab, Fortunato strutted down the ramp as if he owned all of Leng. He looked like a fool with the old clear plastic helmet over his head. He held something in his hand as he limped with pain. He chewed on the same stalk of mushy narcotic weed. His eyes were inflamed with anger and zeal. Three bloody accomplices stood with him, each wearing low rent environmental suits and holding ancient laser rifles.

Fortunato still held the tip of his old J'narr spear as he walked out.

"You almost do it mon, You almost got away." I could hear him speak over my suit's comm link. "Don't matta dough, I would have found ya anyway"

"I'm gonna enjoy skinnin' ya man. I make a new shirt out o' you." He said.

I lay in the rocks as one of his goons slipped on the slime covered ground.

"Its no different den it eva' was. We jus start ova' friend. You didn do notin' ya hear?" He shouted.

He kept walking toward me and the wreck. For a second, I hoped Kali and Johanna had quick deaths as the ship smoked.

"My masta..he everywhere. He can come through anywhere! We jus need time , mon, you see." He shouted as he helped his friend up.

They began to walk over to my broken body.

The suit was near powerless. Its alternator could no longer draw power from my metabolism. My leg was crushed beyond pain.

Fortunato waved his spear in the air as his men walked over to me through the rain.

The clouds swirled again as if a new ship was coming through the clouds. The storm grew closer.

And then, the storm was here. The rain pounded down harder. The torrents flashed in waves. The thunder was so close.

Suddenly, Fortunato and his men halted dead in their stride. He raised his spear to halt their movement, his hand held up in the air. They looked at him with curiosity.

Lightning flashed beyond the clouds. A low rumble broke as the ground shook.

"You hear dat?" he said to one of them. They looked out into the clouds.

The rumble of thunder grew stronger as rock and dirt jumped up from the ground. The pools of water vibrated with the thud of something smashing.

Then, I felt the dark shadow over my head.

This was the shadow of the true _Man Killer_ of Leng.

Fortunato looked up in the sky. The narcotic weed in his mouth dropped out and fell to the rocky ground. His face suddenly looked both terrified and hopeless. His pupils swirled with the mark of the Taint. I felt the seed of the Dark Star within him squirm with fear. His friends gasped too. On their faces, they saw something terrifying.

I briefly thought of Papa's words.

If these frauds believed _death to be an illusion_, you wouldn't have known it from the look in their eyes. This was the last thing I saw on Fortunato's face as the huge continent of grey flesh came crashing down on his tiny body and the whole of the _Night Gaunt_.

Whatever the sinewy husk of muscle and flesh was, it had taken the whole cruiser out and flattened it like a pancake. The mass was like the whole plateau of Leng came swirling around me and over my head.

For a moment, I thought it must have been a huge portion of basalt or rock, heaved from the crumbling plateau, but it was neither.

Above me, was the fleshy union and lower torso of something huge. Somehow, this was an animal or living thing. A torso and set of legs .. _walking_?

It appeared the planet Leng had one more horror to offer me. There was one final monster.

I soon realized, with utter disbelief and astonishment, the thing that crushed Fortunato was a nothing more than a giant leg!

As it lumbered past me, I could see a portion of the thing. The huge creature was the size of one of Europa's mighty skyscrapers. The mass was thousands of feet tall and nearly just as wide. It was human shaped, well-muscled and clearly a biped. The horror was built like a man, but with gigantic and distorted proportions. The creature's thick legs ended in feet like stumps, more like an elephant. The arms were muscled, like a man's, but the hands swayed back and forth with a congealed set of squiggling tentacles at the end.

The head looked like a cephalopod of twisted design. At first, it was a gruesome site, like a massive squid had swallowed a giant man's head. But the gruesome head was actually the creatures real head. Proportionally, it was larger than a human appendage. Around the chin, thick tentacles hung down to its chest. I could only imagine the devilish mouth hidden underneath those tubers. The great kraken head sat on top of broad shoulders and scanned the ground with dark pupiless eyes.

Either the thing was mindless, or it's thoughts were beyond whatever insignificant creatures I could perceive. Looking into it's dark eyes, I had no sense the monolith even noticed us or the damage around it as it lumbered onward.

I sensed nothing of the Taint within the monster. This was not a creation of the Dark Star.

As the beast lumbered on, with each step, the ground shook with the force of an earthquake. Water splashed and wet soil kicked around.

This was the great leviathan of the depths of Leng, unblinking an uncaring, the thing was nothing more than a brutal and inconceivable animal. I could feel the age and power of the strider. The monster had walked these depths for eons untold. So too, it would walk these plains of Leng for eons after men were gone.

The leviathan plodded on past Fortunato's flattened ship without even noticing the damage. It lumbered off into the dark swirls of clouds without even looking my way.

The shadow hovered over us as it continued on.

The gargantuan of the depths.

Soon, the sound of it's steps once again became a distant storm.

I slumped over as the dark rain continued to fall. My suit was failing. The seams were damaged at the portion of my leg that was snapped. The pain was intense. I hit the suit's toggle to deliver my morphine injection. I felt the slight sting as the dose injected.

I looked back at the crumpled blue swirl of fur popped out over the edge. The tiger.

I could see Kali look at me. Her eyes were tired and sad. She blinked at me as the rain fell around us.

She was still alive.

I could not see Johanna as my eyes dipped. The air in my suit was thin now. The morphine had fully set in.

I settled in to a warm spot in my head as I tried to think about a new life.

The red light scanned my face and came on me like my alarm clock in college. The rain still pattered around me. I could not tell how long I had slept, but it was not long.

I glanced quickly over at the ship. Kali still winked at me to tell me she was still by my side.

The blink of technology and laser darted about the rocks. The wave passed over the wreck. I knew they were hard light scopes, no doubt assessing the whole scene.

A focused beam of light settled on my chest and stopped.

I coughed a bit as my eyes squinted to see the figures emerge through the haze.

Five men in powered armor scanned our wreck with red laser devices. Each of them had what I assumed were Golivian weapons and the most advanced powered armor suits I had ever seen. I could not see their faces through the tinted visors. They were certainly not UCF rescue jumpers.

The suits had no markings or designators. Only a scarlet red color that most overt units would have frowned from using.

In the air, I heard them speak in an encrypted voice pattern. It sounded ghoulish, like monsters who spoke to one another as they plotted how they would dismember us.

Two of the troopers walked over to the wreck as the rest aimed their weapons at me. With the morphine still in my blood, I said nothing as they aimed in on my body. The men seemed to wait for word from their partners to take any action.

Suddenly, one of the men at the crash site gave a thumbs up to the others. He waved frantically with his hand. Someone hollered something in a series of encrypted tics and glibs.

The laser went off my chest as one of the troopers slung his rifle and ran to the wreck.

I felt the ground rumble as one of the crew motioned the clouds with his hand.

The wind creamed all around.

In the torrent, pieces of the Night Gaunt kicked up in a cyclone of debris. I could see what was left of Fortunato's dark crew fly off into the rocks as the huge scarlet ship approached to land.

it was a large ship. Smaller than a carrier, but much bigger than an average destroyer. larger ships like it did not usually make landfall.

The craft was like none I had ever seen before.

It was long and red, with a similar shade of scarlet as the trooper's suit's. The craft had a large side mounted mass driver cannon and numerous missile bays on the side. There were a few guns fused to the side I had never seen. The engines were huge, bigger than most anything in UCF production. They also looked strange and alien. The noise from the green glow of the burners made an odd noise, as if it were powered by something completely different.

This was a war ship.

Deep metal scars pocked the hull. Battle ruts and burn marks littered the forward panels and fixtures. The ship was an old horse of a different time, yet it was more advanced than anything I had ever seen.

On the starboard side, the markings were clear as day. "Sunni Zarr Corporation" was stenciled on the meat of the hull.

_Goddamn Zarr_, I thought to myself.

As the wind storm subsided the huge battle cruiser landed on the ground. The green engines fired down.

Immediately, a compartment on the aft hull opened up and a ramp slide down. The hover craft whirred with a blue glow down the ramp at full speed.

I saw the medical pods rush out, surrounded by a host of more scarlet powered troopers. They all ran toward us.

I remember one of them spoke to me as two of them picked me up.

"Everything's going to be ok, Colonel." He said "We're going to get you out of here"

As they dragged me to the ship, I glanced over at the pile of gore that had been my former host.

Fortunato.

And so ended his tale. For my hope, perhaps mine had just begun.

The sneaky eyed pirate was a man who nearly tricked me into becoming some possessed general in the service of his dark god. He led me on a ruse of epic proportions before I broke out and left them in the dust. For Fortunato, he went through all the trouble only to end up a flattened pancake at the hands of one of Leng's gargantuan wardens.

Fortunato warned me of these depths and the creatures who roamed here. In some ways, it was a shame.

All I ever wanted to do was hunt a damn tiger. Fortunato was now a permanent part of the rock and scum of this barren expanse. Down here in the depths of Leng, the better half of him was probably still stuck to the foot of a giant as it lumbered off into oblivion.


	30. Chapter 30

**EPILOGUE**

The line sailed out into the crystal pond as the morning mist puffed past the thin band.

Without making a noise or splash, the fly sat gently on the top of the water. Around the bright feathered lure, the clear water eddied and swirled in a gentle conical pattern. You could just make out the pebbles, rocks and darting minnows several feet under the water.

Johanna's cast was executed well. She looked back at me with satisfaction , as if she expected some sort of acknowledgement. I had come to realize, despite her sauciness, the girl learned quite fast.

As I watched her stand silently, I packed a small antique pipe with some fresh cherry tobacco I had bought at the local market. I wasn't much of a smoker, but a sweet puff of the pipe now and then was no large sin. Today, I had some reason to celebrate. I set the pipe on my knee and noted the scar on my leg had nearly healed.

I looked back behind me and saw Kali as she lay down in a bed of fresh pine needles. Her stomach was white with thick bandages. As she relaxed, the cat let off a huge yawn.

The place was special to me. The secret grotto was about a mile past my summer lodge on Crystal Pond. It was a small river that fed the larger pond. you had to look hard to find it, we were well off the beaten trails. My father had found the spot, and it was full of trout.

The pool was in a small grotto. Some tall grass and thicket nearby ensured a steady supply of bus and landhoppers. There was nice blend of pine trees and hard woods around. The leaves and thistles scraped with the cool morning breeze. I could breathe here. This was my Ganymede.

In the sky beyond us, the thin sun glinted far away. Closer still, was the powerful visage of mighty Jupiter. As always, the giant ruled the skies of Ganymede. As the late morning approached, Io also crept into view. Callisto was not far in tow.

Johanna's hair was pulled back in a pony tale as she wore one of my smaller fishing vests. She had on my hat as well, it was covered with old flies I had collected as a boy. I hadn't worn the hat in many years, it was too small now. My father had given me the hat as young child . I figured she had earned the right to wear it.

She waited with her legs half buried in the shallow edge of the water. The ripples edged up to her shins.

"This water is freezing" She complained.

"I told you it would be, I had a pair of waders you know." I replied. "By the way, its not smart to talk too loud. Trout tend not to like that."

Johanna was silent, no small feat for her.

She looked at the pool and stuck her tongue softly out in concentration.

The line sat in the slight current of the pool as the woman waited patiently.

Suddenly, the line tensed and the woman yanked back on the bamboo rod. The line went taught as it bounced back and forth with the play of a fighting fish.

"I got one!" She shouted as she held the pole up in the air.

"Careful" I replied as I watched from the safety of the rock.

She gave off a slight grunt as she worked the action on the reel. The device made a crank noise as her hands worked the spool around.

"Not too fast, let 'er fight it out some." I added as I sat on a rock behind Johanna. I took a small series of puffs on the pipe.

Johanna kept up the fight. The line jiggled with play in the air as she held the rod up high and cranked the reel.

Before long, I could see the dancing flashes of gold and emerald as the small fish fought in the shallow depths of the pool. It was a decent sized fish for the small pool.

"Easy" I said as she worked the reel.

As she shifted in the water, she nearly slipped on a rock and fell."Whoops" She said as she smiled and regained her footing. As she recovered, her deft hand held the rod up as she stood up.

Green and gold flashed closer to the surface now.

The fish came in eventually. She bent over to unhook it as it splashed in the cool water. She held it up to me and smiled. It was at least a decent breakfast.

Kali looked at the fish with focused and certain hunger. The big cat licked her lips.

I gave Johanna a smile and thumbs up.

"Well done!" I said.

To both of our disappointment, Johanna tossed the fish back in the pool. With a flash of green, it was gone.

Johanna gave a smile to the cat.

"Don't worry girl, we have steaks back at the cottage." Johanna said.

The tiger still hissed as she licked her paw. Clearly, she preferred fish.

I took a large puff on the sweet pipe and exhaled the ring of smoke. The rings had nice shape in the cool air.

Johanna waded over to my seat on the rock.

"That stuff is gross" Johanna said as waded closer to me. She took a seat by the rock next to me as she checked the line.

"Want some?" I asked as I held the pouch open for her.

"Nah" she said as she tossed a rock into the pool. "I'm thinking of a swim."

I looked at the inviting pool swirl and eddy. It was a tempting idea, but there was still a decent chill in the air.

"Hmm, maybe after lunch for me." I said.

Johanna's face turned serious as she took off her sandals.

"You know I spoke with Zarr." She said. "He said he knows you. Spoke highly of your father."

"I know that." I said. "We have some history"

"How?" She asked " I didn't know that.."

"Well, it's a _long_ story" I said.

"He wants you to join us." She said" He wants you on board with the _Saal Druga_, Fredrick."

I looked at her and said nothing. I took a puff of my pipe and blew the smoke out my nose without opening my mouth.

"Fredrick, we _need_ you" She said." This is important work "

I thought of Papa's plea for help. Briefly, I also thought of the faces of those on _Kull-Ghu_, in my nightmares they told me they "needed me" as well.

"Papa said the same thing, Y'know, ." I said.

Johanna set the rod down and pushed up closer to me.

"There's more 'Papas' out there. More _Vraeg_...and worse. You know t_he Taint_ is real. If we let them, they will destroy everything, old man. Even your precious Ganymede." She said."There's another war coming"

I thought of the Ganymede sycophants. The dinner party scene. There I was with my stained dress uniform as I held a snifter glass of brandy. A crowd of vampires lurked around me as they laughed. I looked at the lavish dresses and the woman with bursting fake breasts next to men with exaggerated laughter and twirled mustaches. They laughed just as hard as Papa had before he re joined his master.

"Didn't you say _some things deserve a plague_?" I asked. "Maybe its just time for it all to end."

I puffed on my pipe as I looked out to the pool. I could tell she was seething with anger.

"I guess your still scared." She said." I guess you have not learned yet. I thought you had changed."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Kali is the goddess of death. She is the goddess of destruction." Johanna replied.

I looked back at Kali. She snarled and bit at a small butterfly as it danced around her head.

"Hmpff.." I replied.

Johanna giggled some as she pushed me.

"Seriously, she is." Johanna said as she got a grip of herself.

"She's also a goddess of change, Montressor, did you know that?"

I set my pipe down for a moment.

"She's a great little kittie, Johanna, but I'm not the religious type, y'know" I replied.

"She's taken a liking to you Fredrick, she told me she wants to stay with you." Johanna said.

I knocked the pipe on the side of the lichen filled rock as the birds chirped around. In the distance, I thought I heard the snap of a twig.

"I don't know, Ganymede has some strict animal control operators, it's a highly regulated planet you know. Those environmentalists can be worse than the J'narr sometimes. They're downright wicked." I said as I looked to the woods again. There was a slight rocky cliff on the far edge of the pool. I swore I heard something up above.

Kali's head perked up and scanned the woods. _She heard something in the trees as well._

As Johanna went on speaking, I felt a sick feeling in my stomach as I caught the subtle touch of the _Taint_. Something wicked was near. I could feel it now.

"You know you lied to me, and that bothers me" I said as I focused back on the girl.

"How did I lie?" She asked.

"You said you didn't work for Zarr." I replied.

Johanna stood up with her hands on her hips. Her supple form was inviting.

"I never lied to you Montressor, I don't work for Zarr. He's not my boss. _He's my partner_. Definitely a rich one though." She replied.

I looked back at Kali. The tiger was gone.

"Hmm, so who is your boss then?" I asked.

Johanna looked at me and smiled. "Well, it's a long story.." She said with a wry grin.

She took off her vest and revealed the thin bikini top. I thought she was going to leap into the cool water, but she surprised me and inched closer to me. "But maybe you can meet them someday." She grabbed the back of my hair gently, as if to kiss me, instead, she gazed lovingly into my eyes with her emerald jewels. Her eclipse tattoo was in full effect as she nuzzled my head.

I took a relaxed breath. _Much better than Leng._

Beyond the wood, another footfall sounded.

The voices were unmistakable now. Quickly, I grabbed Johanna close and pushed her down toward the edge of the cliff. We both ducked low in the knee high water as I pulled out my "Old Faithful" revolver from my holster. As Johanna gave me a confused look, I pressed my finger to my lips in the universal symbol she recognized.

Johanna now understood the situation. She grabbed a lone blade she had on her ankle. The silver metal shimmered in the early morning light as she held it under the water.

"Expecting company?" She whispered in my ear. She still gently ran her finger down my back.

"Defiantly not." I whispered back to her with grim emphasis to my expression.

The cloaked men appeared through the trees. It was not on any path I had seen used before. They had no business on my land, it was an unmistakable act of trespass. As they bounded over the land, dark hoods pulled low over their head further sent the wrong message. The four men held high quality RAV assault rifles and wore military boots. These were certainly not hunters. Poachers were not typical to Ganymede. I could see the blotchy swirls in their eyes as they looked about. Even from meters away, they stunk of ammonia and the Taint.

"Montressor, I am here _now_ by your side." Johanna said as she pulled me close. She nibbled at my ear some. The feeling was quite pleasant. "So, if you won't fight for the _Saal Druga or Sunni Zarr. If you won't fight for anything else, _Fredrick Montressor, would you fight for _me_? Would you fight with _me_ now, again?"

She pulled me tight and our lips pressed together. Her embrace tasted sweeter than anything I had ever known. I looked down at her stomach to the outline of the eclipse again. The wild corona danced from her skin around her belly button.

Suddenly, I knew this was the sum of my search. _This was the answer._ I had finally found her in the stars.

I smelled the sweet lavender as I brought my face away from the woman's gentle red hair. As I opened my eyes, I looked past her head to the approaching men. The lead brigand saw us in the water. He tapped his accomplice on the shoulder and pointed to us. They exchanged smiles among themselves as if they had won some game. _The fools_, I thought. My pistol was hidden nicely behind my thigh.

One of the men came forward by the edge of the water.

"Hello there, travelers!" The man shouted in an overly friendly tone."How' the fish biting today?" The dark man said as his eyes swirled with dark oil. His mates looked around the forest with anxiety. Cautiously, they inched forward.

From the pool, I slowly wheeled around from Johanna's embrace and squeezed her hand. Our eyes met once again. I nodded to her gently and smiled as I flipped off the safety on my pistol.

My eye caught another sparkle in the dark.

Behind the cloaked men, far above in the trees, I saw the glowing azure eyes of the _goddess of death_ as she looked down.

She was hungry. She was real.

Suddenly, there on Ganymede , I swore I could hear the gentle rhythm of drums.


End file.
